Theamazonindanger

Due to the trade in animal parts, many species continue to suffer high rates oBf exploitation. Even today, there are demands for items such as rhino horns and tiger bones in several areas of Asia. It is here that there exists a strong market for traditional medicines made from these animal parts. Every living thing needs somewhere to live, find food and reproduce. This is known as its habitat. In order for a species to be viable its habitat must have sufficient territory, necessary food and water and a range of necessary physical features. These features can include tree cover, rocky hills or deep pools, as well as the organisms and [|ecosystems] that are needed to complete the life cycle. Habitat loss is when land cover, or its aquatic equivalent, is changed, usually as a result of changing use by humans. Whenever we humans take over natural areas for our own use, we are encroaching on the habitat of another creature and progressively we are doing this at an alarming rate. The world's forests, swamps, lakes and other habitats continue to disappear as we make way for agriculture, housing, roads, pipelines and all the other hallmarks of industrial development. Habitat loss is also a huge problem in the marine environment. Destructive fishing, using deep trawlers and dynamiting coral reefs destroy entire ecosystems. Coastal habitats are destroyed when land is drained for development. Excess nutrients from fertilizers or domestic sewage flow into the sea, causing harmful algae to form, blocking out the sunlight and depleting the water of oxygen. Pollution from toxic substances such as industrial chemicals, pesticides and motor oil are also a real problem. Dredging ship channels will stir up accumulated sediments and pollutants and the removed material is often dumped on salt marshes, destroying the habitats of the creatures that live there. Extensive deforestation brings with it many problems both to the environment and to the people living there. H istorically, low human population densities and regulated use of natural resources protected the balance of ecosystems in Armenia. However, over the last 1,000 years human impacts on the land have increased, mainly through deforestation and increased use of pastures. Such problems have intensified over recent years with unprecedented population growth and urbanization since 1920, resulting in increased human impacts not only on individual species, but also on whole ecosystems.

**Amazon Rainforest: Consequences**

Extensive deforestation brings with it many problems both to the environment and to the people living there. In this section, we shall examine some of these problems.
 * Loss of Soil Fertility **

The presence of vegetation provides a protective cover over the soil. Through the nutrient cycle, vegetation helps to maintain the soil fertility. When it rains, nutrients enter the soil. Plant roots absorb the dissolved nutrients from the soil. When leaves fall, small organisms such as worms and insects break down the leaves as they decompose and this returns the nutrients to the soil. Hence, the fertility of the soil is maintained. However, with the clearance of the forest, there is a loss of a protective cover for the soil. With deforestation, there will be a higher rate surface runoff and this results in a higher rate of soil erosion and soil leaching. In soil erosion, the topsoil is being removed or washed away by the higher surface runoff. Soil leaching, a process by which nutrients are washed deeper into the soil, causes the top soil to become increasing infertile over time, This, through soil erosion and soil leaching, the soil in the deforested area gradually loses its fertility.
 * Increase in Water Pollution and Flooding **

When the soil on on cleared land begins to erode, more soil is washed into the rivers. The water quality is affected. Gradually the rivers sit up, increasing the likelihood of flooding in the low-lying areas downstream.

 **Increase in greenhouse effect**

 As the tropical rainforest of the Amazon Basin covers a huge area, its large-scale destruction is likely to have a global impact. As more trees are felled, there will be fewer trees to remove the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by the process of photosynthesis. Thus, the global carbon dioxide level is expected to increase in the greenhouse effect. In addition, the burning of the forest contributes significant amounts of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane to the atmosphere, thus worsening the greenhouse effect.

 **Loss of Plant and Animal Species**

 We have already seen how rich the tropical rainforest is in terms of the variety of plant life, especially when compared with the temperate forests. When trees are felled in the tropical rainforest, many valuables plant spiecies are destroyed. An example of a valuable plant species in the Amazon rainforest which faces extinction is the Cinchona tree, from which quinine is extracted for the treatment of malaria. Many animals die when the tropical rainforest is felled and burnt. Many others die because their natural habitat in the tropical rainforest has been destroyed. Over time, some animal species may become extinct.

 **Destruction of habitat and culture of the Amazonian Indians**

 The indigenous people of the Amazon Basin are the American Indians who have lived there for thousands of years. Some Amazonian Indians are hunters and gatherers while others are shifting cultivators. They rely on the forest for their food, shelter and clothing. The extensive clearance of the tropical rainforest in the Amazon Basin has resulted in the destruction of their habitat and their traditional way of life or culture. When the tropical rainforest is cleared, they are forced to move out of the forest and many find it difficult to adapt to life outside the

 rainforest.

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