The amazon region is basically known by its continuous tropical forest and water basin extending in most regions of the South American continent. Currently, human activities involve cutting the primary forest together with the biomass release, interregional diversity, institutional and social drivers are contributing to adverse effects to Amazon climate change. During the 2009 conference that discussed climate change, Brazil volunteered to control and reduces global heating gas by reducing the deforestation act in Amazon tropical forest by 80% before 2020 (Jung, Suhyun & Polasky 498). Recently, the amount of deforestation in the Amazon has increased and not begun the decrease recently promised. With the continuing increase in deforestation, the impacts in this area can be devastating. There are a couple of key issues that must be explored when it comes to impact of deforestation. The first issue involves the effects occurring due to change of land surface in Amazon basin. The second issue is whether these changes impact the duration and period of dry seasons and rain seasons thus causing intensity and frequency of climatic events in the region like floods and drought.
Deforestation has been devasting for the physical landscape. By the year 2001, approximately 837 000 km2 of the Amazon had been cleared and of this, around 80% of this deforestation has been in Brazil (Perez 2008). Deforestation of this area is occurring because of the need for expansion of roads into forest regions, also by the increase need for areas for cattle ranching and, more recently, soya bean farms (Perez 2008). A massive change such as this can have devastating effects in the ecosystem of the amazon. The continuation of deforestation is leading to reduced precipitation in the area. Studies in precipitation show reduced percentages that is like savanna lands as consequence of continuing deforestation. Currently the interaction between the land surface in Amazon forest and basin and the effects to rainfall is being observed by using research through environmental models. For Jung, Suhyun & Polasky, two Economic and Environment professors at the University of Minnesota, witnessed 90% in changed course of rainfall intensity and frequency is related to deforestation in the Amazon. Areas with limited activities of deforestation continue to receive higher rainfall compared to bare land surfaces. Research studies further explain that various parts in eastern amazon where deforestation is exaggerated show tipping reduced rate of precipitation impact (Jung, Suhyun & Polasky 499). For instance, according to Jean Pierre Ometto (who works for the Earth Systems Science Center in Brazil) deforestation has a direct negative impact to the environment whereby it interferes with the natural water cycles. Trees help in the release of water to the atmosphere through evaporation once they have undergone the process of transpiration. In reference to Bennett (Who works at the Climate Institute in Washington), the transpired water evaporates and it them becomes cloud and through hydrological cycle, the clouds swell with moisture and release the water back to the ground as rain. Therefore, deforestation will decrease the number of transpiring trees and this is directly reducing the amount of rainfall to be received (Chakravarty et al. 231). Basically, deforestation has got more negative impacts to the environment than there can be positive impacts from it. For instance, according to Ometto et al. (63), deforestation has a direct negative impact to the environment whereby it interferes with the natural water cycles. Trees help in the release of water to the atmosphere through evaporation once they have undergone the process of transpiration. The consequence to this is in the fact that the surrounding areas will experience drought. The irony of this is that this can affect the economic stability of a nation for less food will be produced from agricultural practices. For instance, with less rainfall and unpredictable patterns, the farmers will have to seek alternating methods of hydrating their crops and this may be costly to majority of them. So, while the deforestation is occurring in part because of agriculture, the consequences of the deforestation can be potentially harmful to the same agriculture business. For instance, with less rainfall and unpredictable patterns, the farmers will have to seek alternating methods of hydrating their crops and this may be costly to majority of them. Another risk to farmers will be increased soil erosion since there are no trees to cover it. The soil will first become loose and easily blown away owing to the direct exposure to strong dry winds (Ometto et al. 63). Therefore, farmers in the surrounding farms will have a difficult time tending to their crops. More so, if the arable land is destroyed by deforestation it will affect the wellbeing of the people living around.
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With the increase in loss of trees, that means that less moisture will be available for the hydrologic cycle (Water Cycle). According to Bennett (98), this is an indication that deforestation will directly influence weather patterns negatively. In short, the more the trees, the more water will be suspended within the air. For instance, each tree will suck water from the ground and release it as vapor to the atmosphere via pores located in the leavers through the transpiration process. It is this water that comes back as rainfall around the world even thousands of kilometers away. Therefore, cutting down trees risks the rivers drying up while desiccating fields entirely from Argentina, Brazil and to the Western United States. This is an indication that with continued deforestation, there will be less or no trees in the Amazon to enhance the formation of rainfall. The loss of precipitation and increase of drought in the Amazon is an area
to be concerned. These droughts are becoming more frequent in the region, with three “100-year” droughts occurring in the span of ten years (NASA). The worst years of drought occurred in 2005, 2010, and 2015. Observers on the ground from NASA found that droughts can disproportionately kill trees first. An increase in tree deaths will decrease the Amazon’s effectiveness as a carbon sink. The reduced precipitation and increased drying have been contributing to mortality of the tropical forest trees thus diminishing the ecosystem resilience. On top of losing trees, a dry atmosphere has the potential for extreme weather events. As most people have seen in recent weeks, weather events such as wildfires will increase exponentially if these droughts continue. Droughts will lead to depleted river systems, loss of vegetation, and transition for the Amazon from being a rainforest to a dry tropical forest.
The decrease in trees in the region has also led to an increase in carbon gasses. Forests, such as the Amazon, have long been considered carbon sinks (which means that is absorbs more carbon gasses than it releases). Tropical forests have become so degraded because of the increase in deforestation that these areas have become more of a source of carbon gasses rather than a sink (Perez 2008). Researchers found that these tropical forests have are releasing 425 tera-grams of carbon, which is more than the United States. The study found that the Amazon is responsible for 60% of those emissions. An increase in greenhouse gasses is harmful because these gasses trap heat and cause the atmosphere to increase in temperature, it can also lead to more severe weather patterns.
Deforestation will greatly lead in the habitat loss or a decreased biodiversity (Bennett 98). Amazon Rainforest is home to more than a million species of animals and plants and deforestation threatens their existence within the next decades if the act is not halted. Deforestation is a destruction and fragmentation to biodiversity. The natural habitat for the migratory species and the species which are highly endangered for both the animals and plants will be destroyed under the increased deforestation rates. According to Ometto et al. (24), retaining biodiversity in the Amazon and other forests around the world is equal to retaining capital for future use until further research can be in this case done to establish relative significance of various animal and plant species. Apart from climate change, deforestation threatens biodiversity and the natural habitat. This can lead to the rainforests transforming into savannas and emergence of pathogens from an increase contact of animals and humans which might be very fatal (Bennett 121).
There are also social consequences associated with deforestation and they equate to social injustice to both the plants and animals. Social consequences too have been found to be with long term effects which are very devastating. The indigenous communities who live in the Amazon rainforest like the Yano-Mani Indian Tribe that is highly protected will be exposed to civilization that will finally erode their cultures (Chakravarty et al. 231). The traditional social institutions and the styles that they have will be long forgotten once they have been displaced from their natural ancestral habitat. The indigenous population will have the possibility to get exposed to diseases such as Tuberculosis, malaria, measles, Flu, HIV/AIDs among others (Chakravarty et al. 195). This is an indigenous population and deforestation should be condemned to protect them and other natural causes affected by it.
In conclusion, it is evident that deforestation has far reaching and devastating consequences. It threatens climate change, increase in the local temperatures, altering the natural habitats and biodiversity up to causing soil erosion and interference with the indigenous population of humans, plants and animals among others. Therefore, continuing the deforestation of the Amazon should be condemned by putting in place measures and strategies of combating it and ensure that the world will not lose one of the most important environmental pieces.
Works Cited
- Bennett, L., 2017. Deforestation and climate change. Washington (DC): The Climate Institute. Retrieved From: http://climate.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/04/deforestation- final_r1.pdf
- Chakravarty, Sumit, et al. 2012. 'Deforestation: causes, effects and control strategies.' Global perspectives on sustainable forest management. IntechOpen.
- Jung, Suhyun, and Stephen Polasky. 'Partnerships to prevent deforestation in the Amazon.' Journal of Environmental Economics and Management 92 (2018): pp.498-516.
- NASA Global Climate Change. 2018. 17 Sept. 2019 .
- Ometto, Jean & Aguiar, Ana & Martinelli, Luiz. (2014). Amazon deforestation in Brazil: Effects, drivers and challenges. Carbon Management. 2. 575-585. 10.4155/cmt.11.48. Retrieved from:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276302940_Amazon_deforestation_in_Br azil_Effects_drivers_and_challenges
- Perz S, et al. Road building, land use and climate change: prospects for environmental governance in the Amazon. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 2008;363:1889–1895. doi:10.1098/rstb.2007.0017
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