Deforestation and Biodiversity

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Recommended: Tropical deforestation and the effects

Deforestation and Biodiversity

While the loss of forests is clearly visible, a decline in biodiversity has a less apparent effect. The subtle loss of biodiversity fails to indicate the significance that fewer species in the ecosystem increases the fragility of life for all species. Despite the negative effects of deforestation and the consequential decline of biodiversity, trees are cut down for an economic and consumer benefit. Members of society need to determine how much economic cost they are willing to spend in order to preserve plant and animal species.

To reduce the degree of deforestation, tree harvesters may use selective logging, which involves only the removal of trees that are the most economically beneficial. Trees with lower economic value are left standing. This method still has problems intrinsic with any kind of deforestation and selective logging also introduces new environmental problems. Tree harvesters need to build roads into the forests to remove the timber (Vandermeer and Perfecto, 1995). The road construction means that a greater surface of land will be covered by asphalt, which increases the amount of rainwater runoff that is not filtered by the soil before entering a stream. These streams are polluted by sediment carried by the rainwater.

Vandermeer and Perfecto also say that selective logging introduces secondary damage when non-targeted trees are knocked down in the process of removing the desirable trees. In addition, selective logging over a long period of time leads to deterioration of the stand, which reduces the overall value of the forest when the loss of more valuable trees leaves lower grade timber behind (Vandermeer and Perfecto, 1995).

Another change related to the effect of sel...

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Sanchez-Azofeifa, G., Rivard, B., Calvo, J., Moorthy, I. (2002). “Dynamics of Tropical Deforestation Around National Parks: Remote Sensing of Forest Change on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica.” Retrieved April 16, 2003, from BioOne .

Southwick, C. H. (1996). Global Ecology in Human Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press.

State Department. (2003). “Study Says Smaller Households threaten Worldwide Biodiversity,” January 15. Retrieved April 16, 2003, from United States Consulate Mumbai-India .

Vandermeer, J. and Perfecto, I. (1995). Breakfast of Biodiversity: The Truth about Rain Forest Destruction. Oakland, California: The Institute for Food and Development Policy.

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