Deforestation and Climate Change

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Deforestation and Climate Change
Phillip Larson Ben Mancheski Andrew
Rooyakkers Aaron Schaufenbuel
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Introduction
Definition the deliberate clearance of forested
land by cutting or burning. Can have a major
impact on 1. surface water flows 2.
hydrographs 3. soil erosion 4. Climate
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What causes deforestation?

• 1. Agricultural Practices
• a. Shifting Agriculture
• b. Permanent Agriculture
• 2. Cattle Ranching
• 3. Commercial Logging

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Shifting Agriculture

• 1. Traditional shifting cultivation
• slash and burn
• Regeneration 15- 20 years
• 2. Short rotation cultivation
• a. fallow periods
• 3. Encroaching cultivation
• a. Spreading from main roads

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Permanent Agriculture

• 1. Why is it a problem?
• 2. Fish Farming
• 3. Government Resettlement Schemes

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Cattle Ranching

• - Law states that ½ of land must be retained as
  forested

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Other causes

• 1. Mining
• 2. Hydro electric plants (Tucuru Dam)
• 3. Urban expansion
• 4. Cultivation of illegal
• drugs

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Commercial Logging

• -alleviates debt
• -developing countries (Brazil)

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Climate Changes

• 1. Increase in solar radiation cooling
• 2. Less evapotranspiration warming
• 3. Rainfall
• 4. Mountain climates

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Wisconsin?

• - Many rivers (easy transport)
• - First paper mill built in Appleton in 1853

(Fox, Wisconsin, Chippewa, Menominee, Peshtigo,
Eau Claire, Flambeau)
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Natural Causes of Climate Change

• Glacial Ages (Ice Ages)
• Milankovitch Cycle/ Orbital Changes
• Carbon Dioxide/ Atmospheric Changes
• Volcanic Activity
• Sea Water Circulation
• Continental Position

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Over the past 750,000 years of Earth's history,
Ice Ages have occurred at regular intervals, of
approximately 100,000 years each
http//www.clearlight.com/mhieb/WVFossils/ice_age
s.html
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Over half the Earths surface was covered by
Glaciers or extreme deserts at the extent of
glaciation 18,000 years ago.
http//www.clearlight.com/mhieb/WVFossils/present
_interglacial.html
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Present day vegetation cover
http//www.clearlight.com/mhieb/WVFossils/present
_interglacial.html
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Deforestation and Climate Change

• (A) Mass deforestation of Amazon regions could
  increase in the mean surface temperature 2.5C
  and decrease the annual evapo-transpiration (30
  reduction), precipitation (25 reduction), and
  runoff (20 reduction) in the region

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Deforestation and Climate Change

• (B) There has been an increase in atmospheric
  concentration of CO2 of 90 ppm between the
  pre-industrial era and year 2000. The projected
  range of CO2 concentrations in 2100, under a
  range of emissions scenarios developed for the
  IPCC, is 170-600 ppm above 2000 levels.
• Complete global deforestation over the same time
  frame would increase atmospheric concentrations
  by about 130-290 ppm.

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Deforestation and Climate Change

• (C) Managing forests to help control greenhouse
  gases can be complicated. If the forests are cut
  down again before they grow to their optimum
  carbon storage potential, they might not prove to
  be as helpful to counter-balance deforestation as
  once was thought.

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Preventing Deforestation

• Several techniques already in place

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Tree incentive program

• Tree replacement program
• This program offers an incentive in the form of
  money to those who plant trees.
• Many state governments have joined this approach.

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Benefits

• Helps shoulder the overall cost of planting new
  trees.
• Gives incentives to business by using the
  capitalist system to replant trees after cutting
  them down.

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Pitfalls

• The money incentive is often not enough money to
  cover the full cost of planting trees.
• This leads to mainly environmentalists or
  corporations planting trees. People who most
  likely would have done so at a loss anyhow.

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Non-Profit Organizations

• There are many non profit organizations who go
  about collecting money / donations to plant
  trees.
• Some even encourage children to buy land in the
  rain forests through the schools.

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Preventing Deforestation

• Several ways that deforestation could be prevented

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Social Reform

• The current capitalist system takes advantage of
  the earths resources to the point where permanent
  damage can be expected.
• There currently societies who live within a
  sustainable rate of environmental degradation.

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Social Reform

• Not likely to happen.
• The current setup of our government allows
  candidates to be bought by big money.
• Corporations donate money to a candidates
  campaign and the candidate will look out for that
  corporations interests in return.

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Technology

• There is the possibility that technology could
  progress to the point to where we once again live
  in a sustainable environment.
• Our capitalist system dictates that corporations
  will always try to corner the market and by doing
  so make huge profits.

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Technology

• Often, for a corporation to receive such an edge
  is through technology. This ensures the
  progression of technology.
• Technology could come to the point where it
  becomes so advanced through the capitalist system
  that the demand for natural resources becomes
  significantly reduced.

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Strict Regulations

• Throughout history, we see that public outcry has
  elected politicians who take to hart what the
  people want rather than the needs of the
  corporations.
• If there is enough of a public outcry over
  environmental issues, candidates and government
  leaders will begin to enforce stricter
  environmental regulations.