how does deforestation affect florida
Clearing like this is linked to the spread of infectious diseases like malaria. As more and more forest is cleared around the world, scientists fear that the next deadly pandemic could emerge from what lives within them. (Which tree planting projects should you support?). What is deforestation? The breakdown of deforestation by region is shown in the chart. With the loss of trees and entire forests, homelands are also being destroyed in the process. The water would filter south through a system of marshes to deliver millions of gallons of replenishment to the ecosystem. As a registered user, you can customize maps, save them, and share them with your friends. https%3A%2F%2Fearth.org%2Fhow-does-deforestation-affect-the-environment%2F. We are completely changing the structure of the forest, notes Carlos Zambrana-Torrelio, a disease ecologist at Ecohealth Alliance. Now less than half of its original size, the Everglades is beset by encroaching development and nutrient pollution and riddled with invasive species, such as the Burmese python, and exotic plants, such as Brazilian pepper and Australian pine. The region is again in mild drought, meaning that rainwater isnt currently coming to the Everglades salvation. deforestation Some viruses, like Ebola or Nipah, can be transmitted directly between people, theoretically allowing them to travel around the world as long as there are humans. Can we bring a species back from the brink?
, The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? This Tribe Thinks So. Whether such diseases stay confined to forest fringes or if they gain their own foothold in people, unleashing a potential pandemic, depends on their transmission, Vittor says. A mans world? growth, human development, and deforestation Indeed, millions of people living in these areas depend almost entirely on agriculture and are thus extremely vulnerable to the impact of deforestation on food security, struggling to grow enough food and prevent crops from damage. When does spring start? Identify Priority Places: A Practitioner's Guide, Florida Vegetation 2003 and Land Use Change Between 1985-89 and 2003. Ecohealth Alliance researchers have proposed that containing diseases could be considered a new ecosystem service, that is, a benefit that humans freely gain from natural ecosystems, just like carbon storage and pollination. Eighty percent of Earths land animals and plants live in forests, and deforestation threatens species including the orangutan, Sumatran tiger, and many species of birds. Do Men Still Wear Button Holes At Weddings? In humans, the virus causes hemorrhagic feverthe same kind of illness triggered by Ebola virusand in Liberia killed 36 percent of infected people. For example, in one year of the study, an additional 618-square-mile (1,600-square-kilometer) patch of cleared forestthe equivalent of nearly 300,000 football fieldswas linked to an additional 10,000 cases of malaria. Some is caused by a combination of human and natural factors like wildfires and overgrazing, which may prevent the growth of young trees. This can be done on an individual level, for example by reducing meat consumption, going paperless and recycling products as much as possible, opting for natural products that do not contain ingredients such as palm oil and supporting organisations and sustainable companies that are committed to reducing this dangerous practice. These often support only very low numbers of domestic grazing animals, but they may still be considered grazing lands by national authorities. What are the 3 major causes of soil erosion? Photograph by Paul Nicklen, Nat Geo Image Collection. From logging, agricultural production and other economic activities, deforestation adds more atmospheric CO2 than the sum total of cars and trucks on the world's roads, Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that cutting and burning trees adds more global warming pollution to the atmosphere than all the cars and trucks in the world combined? Mitchell Vale, Houston. Healthy forests act as extremely valuable carbon sinks, with the Amazon rainforest being one of the worlds most important ones. Just four commoditiesbeef, soy, palm oil, and wood productsdrive the majority of global deforestation. Can we bring a species back from the brink? Laden with chemicals from nearby agriculture and warmed in temperatures that are climbing as the climate heats up, the water is the perfect spawning ground for toxic blue-green algal blooms. About 17 percent of the Amazonian rainforest has been destroyed over the past 50 years, and losses recently have been on the rise. These are often plantations of eucalyptus or fast-growing pinesand almost always of species that are not native to the places where they are planted. However, some national governments have also undertaken ambitious replanting projects. These uncontacted tribes live by the rules of nature but are becoming increasingly vulnerable to deforestation, which has forced many of them to migrate. By most accounts, deforestation in tropical rainforests adds more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than the sum total of cars and trucks on the worlds roads. That disruption leads to more extreme temperature swings that can be harmful to plants and animals. As their houses are destroyed and resources compromised, these tribes are forced to migrate elsewhere and find other ways to sustain themselves. Water temperatures increase because the trees that provide cover from sunlight are cut down. as a consequence of the nearly 4 million square miles of forest that have been lost since the beginning of the 20th century. The minerals in the water are almost like sandpaper on the rock, slowly, slowly scrubbing it away. EarthTalk is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Many replanting and reforestation efforts are led and funded by the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations. And consumers can help stop it. Habitat Loss | LandScope Florida In a 2015 study, researchers at Ecohealth Alliance, a New York-based non-profit that tracks infectious diseases globally, and others found that nearly one in three outbreaks of new and emerging disease[s] are linked to land-use change like deforestation, the organizations president Peter Daszak tweeted earlier this year. The Florida Panther, representative of the only breeding subspecies of puma in the eastern U.S. American AlligatorsThe Eastern Indigo Snake, which nearly disappeared from Florida due to deforestation and construction projectsThe Key Deer, threatened by development projects in the Florida KeysMore items With nearly 17% of the forest lost already, the Amazon is currently at its tipping point. WebFlorida, United States Deforestation Rates & Statistics | GFW United States Florida Select a region In 2010, Florida had 5.94Mha of natural forest, extending over 49% of its land With wild habitats destroyed and human life ever expanding, the line between animal and human areas blurs, opening the door to zoonotic diseases. What is the difference between deforestation and logging? Deforestation is the mass destruction of trees in a forest. Often in an effort to clear a large area of land and convert it to a non-forest use. While logging is simply the act of cutting down trees for the purpose of making timber. The plan would tackle local water pollution, protect springs and finish raising the Tamiami Trail, a highway that links Miami and Floridas west coast by cutting across the Everglades, to allow water to flow south to the ecosystem. Wind is also a leading cause of soil erosion because wind can pick up soil and blow it far away. To make that case, their team has been working in Malaysian Borneo to itemize the exact cost of malaria, down to each hospital bed, and syringe that doctors use. Creating your LandScope profile is fast, free, and simple. But in Sabah, a part of Malaysian Borneo, malaria outbreaks also occur in tandem with bursts of forest clearing for palm oil and other plantations. For instance, forests perform important functions like: regulating weather conditions. Deforestation | Definition, History, Consequences, & Facts Trees transpire, or release water into the atmosphere, during photosynthesis. Which travel companies promote harmful wildlife activities? As those gases enter the atmosphere, global warming increases, a trend scientists now prefer to call climate change. Human interaction The destruction of forests and the splitting up into smaller areas makes them more accessible to humans. Forests are also cut as a result of growing urban sprawl as land is developed for homes. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Home | About | Contact | Copyright | Report Content | Privacy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap. One of the most dangerous and unsettling effects of deforestation is the loss of animal and plant species due to their loss of habitat. They range from rainforests that are hot and wet year-round to forests that are merely humid and moist, to those in which trees in varying proportions lose their leaves in the dry season, and to dry open woodlands. However, deforestation is turning these sinks into huge net emitters, something that can have huge implications for slowing the pace of climate change and contributing to a steep rise in global temperatures. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1997, clouds of smoke hung over the rainforests of Indonesia as an area roughly the size of Pennsylvania was burned to make way for agriculture, the fires exacerbated by drought. Trees and their roots provide the soil with an anchor, as well as shelter from the wind and rain. The Everglades link to its headwater in Lake Okeechobee has been severed, with water diverted via canals for agriculture, particularly sugar. Find out the causes, effects, and solutions. Steve Davis, the senior ecologist at the Everglades Foundation. Please select which sections you would like to print: Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, N.C., and Extraordinary Professor, Conservation Ecology Research Unit, University of Pretoria, Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. In the South Asian Monsoon region, the reduction in rainfall is even higher, with around, Aside from their contribution to the water flow, trees help the land retain water and sustain forest life by supplying the soil with rich nutrients. All rights reserved, 60 percent of emerging infectious diseases, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 250 million people who live in forest and savannah areas, fruit bats transmitted the disease to a toddler, many conservationists see reasons for hope, World Wildlife Fund has a palm oil scorecard. Water is the most common cause of soil erosion. We cut down forests to build our homes and feed our growing population, while destroying the homes and food of our native wildlife. Since 1990, the world has lost more than 420 million hectares or about a billion acres of forest, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsmainly in Africa and South America. Deforested lands are being replanted in some areas. This water replenishes clouds and maintains rainfall. Environmentalists are optimistic that the initial success of REDD in Brazil bodes well for reducing deforestation in other parts of the tropics as well. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Deforestation Zika virus, which was discovered in Ugandan forests in the 20th century, could only cruise the world and infect millions because it found a host in Aedes aegpti, a mosquito that thrives in urban areas. WebHabitat destruction is the issue most often cited for the problems now facing Florida wildlife. Boost this article For instance, in Liberia forest clearings for palm oil plantations attract hordes of typically forest-dwelling mice, lured there by the abundance of palm fruit around plantations and settlements.