What Is Clearcutting?
Environmental Issues > Wildlands Main Page > All Wildlands Documents This method of logging can destroy an area's ecological integrity. Clearcutting means the felling and removal of all trees from a given tract of forest. One forestry expert refers to the practice as "an ecological trauma that has no precedent in nature except for a major volcanic eruption." Clearcutting can destroy an area's ecological integrity in a number of ways, including: Intact, healthy forests play a large role in supporting all forms of life on Earth. last revised 5/3/2000 NRDC Gets Top Ratings from the Charity Watchdogs Charity Navigator awards NRDC its 4-star top rating. Worth magazine named NRDC one of America's 100 best charities. NRDC meets the highest standards of the Wise Giving Alliance of the Better Business Bureau. Donate now >
CBBC Newsround: Amazon deforestation
Some main reasons why areas of rainforests are cut down:Farming e.g. soya fields, cattle ranches Mining Flooding areas of land as part of hydro electric power stations Logging to sell the timber Once the trees go, the soil becomes infertile in one or two years, making it poor for farming. Hunting becomes more difficult for the people who live there as the habitat for wildlife is lost. Traditional people's cultures are also lost. The effects of deforestation: Trees are removed. Trees do not protect soil so nutrients are washed out by the rain. Soil is now less fertile and the unprotected surface becomes dry and compacted. It is hard for rain to soak into the soil, so flooding may occur. New trees grow more slowly and there are less species. Possible alternatives to deforestation: You may think that the obvious solution to the problems of deforestation is simply to stop people cutting the trees down. However, it's not always as straightforward as that. The global effects of deforestation:
Rain Forest Threats, Rain Forest Species
More than half of Earth’s rain forests have already been lost forever to the insatiable human demand for wood and arable land. Rain forests that once grew over 14 percent of the land on Earth now cover only about 6 percent. And if current deforestation rates continue, these critical habitats could disappear from the planet completely within the next hundred years. The reasons for plundering rain forests are mainly economic. Wealthy nations drive demand for tropical timber, and cash-strapped governments often grant logging concessions at a fraction of the land’s true value. “Homesteader” policies also encourage citizens to clear-cut forests for farms. Threats Solutions
National Geographic: Deforestation
Modern-Day Plague Deforestation is clearing Earth's forests on a massive scale, often resulting in damage to the quality of the land. Forests still cover about 30 percent of the world’s land area, but swaths the size of Panama are lost each and every year. The world’s rain forests could completely vanish in a hundred years at the current rate of deforestation. Forests are cut down for many reasons, but most of them are related to money or to people’s need to provide for their families.The biggest driver of deforestation is agriculture. Farmers cut forests to provide more room for planting crops or grazing livestock. Logging operations, which provide the world’s wood and paper products, also cut countless trees each year. Not all deforestation is intentional. Deforestation has many negative effects on the environment. Deforestation also drives climate change. Trees also play a critical role in absorbing the greenhouse gases that fuel global warming.
The Clearcutting Controversy -- Myths and Facts
This article, one of six in a series, was written by consultants working in the forest industry. We are grateful to them for sharing their expertise...WVU-ES Editors Kevin Belt, R.F., Consulting Forester Appalachian Forestry, Johnson City, Tenn., and Robert Campbell, R.F., Consulting Forester Appalachian Forestry, Hinton/Beckley, W.Va. 1-800-578-7550 In a previous article of this series, I included clearcutting as one of several viable silvicultural methods. It is perhaps both a mistake and a tragedy that foresters have chosen to call clearcutting exactly that. As nature recovered and the clearcut forests sprung forth and grew back, both the foresters and the public were satisfied with selection management. Reluctantly, foresters realized that "even-aged management" must enter as one of the possible cures to such ailments. Modern, even-aged management is done to improve regeneration--actually planning for the future crop. MYTH: Clearcutting is the same as deforestation.
BBC Nature - Rainforest videos, news and facts
Why people do slash and burn
Deforestation
The Double Whammy of Deforestation Deforestation by burning, a widespread practice in the world’s tropical rain forests, adversely impacts the trace-gas composition of the atmosphere in two different ways. First, the burning of the tropical forests produces large amounts of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and other trace gases that are products when biomass burns. Second, the tropical forest is an important sink, or repository, for carbon dioxide. The Past Much of the Earth was once covered by trees, but the majority of these were cleared long ago to make way for an ever expanding human population. Causes Commercial logging, clearance for agriculture, roads and railways, forest fires, mining and drilling, fuel wood collection and clearance for living space are all intimately connected with deforestation, but it is far from obvious as to which is the worst culprit. Consequences Forests absorb a lot of sunlight for photosynthesis, and only about 12 to 15% is reflected.
Frequently Asked Questions about Americas Forest Products Industry
From America's Abundant Forests Q: Are America's forests in danger? A: Not at all. Q: How much forestland is actually used for producing timber? A: 504 million acres of America's forestland is classified as "timberland," productive forests capable of growing 20 cubic feet of commercial wood per acre per year. A portion of that is permanently managed for uses such as recreation, streamside protection, and wildlife. Q: Who owns the nation's commercial forests? A: Of the nation's 504 million acres of timberlands, 146 million acres, or 29 percent, are owned by federal, state and local governments. Managing A Renewable Resource Q: Why do forest landowners sometimes take all of the trees out of an area? A: That harvesting system is called "clearcutting" - removing all of the trees from a stand rather than picking and choosing. Q: Do timber companies replant when they cut? A: Yes. In some regions of the country, nature itself replants very efficiently. A: A lot! A: Yes.
Wildlife Trade
Our work Display of illegal wildlife products used in Chinese medicine confiscated by customs officers at Heathrow Airport, UK. © WWF-Canon/Edward PARKERWildlife trade is any sale or exchange of wild animal and plant resources by people. This can involve live animals and plants or a diverse range of products needed or prized by humans—including skins, medicinal ingredients, tourist curios, timber, fish and other food products. Most wildlife trade is probably within national borders, but there is a large volume of wildlife in trade internationally. Why There are many reasons why wildlife is traded, including: food—fruits, mushrooms, nuts, leaves and tubers, are particular important resources in sustaining livelihoods in many rural areas. The primary motivating factor for wildlife traders is economic, ranging from small scale local income generation to major profit-oriented business, such as marine fisheries and logging companies. Over-exploitation is a major concern:
