Question: Many scientists consider humans as the most invasive species, as humans can greatly change an environment and impact living things that reside there. Are we being stewards of the world? Take a look at an issue in which human intervention has positively or negatively affected the biodiversity of our ecosystems.
Before humans began destroying the rainforests, they covered just over 15% of the earth’s land area. Many years later, they cover less than half of that at 7%. A hectare of the rainforest - compared to two football fields - is destroyed and torn down every two seconds. At this rate there will be no rainforest to speak of in 40 years or so. The deforestation of forests began as populations grew and the demands for the land occupied by the rainforests grew greater, and the need for forest products increased.
Tropical rainforests are found in 85 countries around the world, and are all located near the equator where the temperature stays above 27 Degrees Celsius year round. The rainforests are often described as earth’s lungs, as the tropical rainforests take in vast quantities of carbon dioxide and convert it into clean oxygen. As the rainforests disappear they take with them the single greatest source of air that we breathe.
The rainforest is full of diversity, many different species inhabiting it, many of whom cannot be found anywhere else on earth. Not only do the rainforests inhabit many different species of animals and plants, there are the indigenous people of the rainforests. In South East Asia and the Pacific Islands, people have lived in the forests for 40,000 years.
The rainforest diversity facts:
-A single rainforest reserve in Peru is home to more species of birds than the entire United States.
- a typical four-mile square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1,500 species of flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 125 mammal species, 400 species of birds, 100 species of reptiles, 60 species of amphibians, and 150 different species of butterflies.
The three major causes of deforestation are farming, ranching, and logging. The farmers in rainforest countries such as Brazil, Peru, or Indonesia are often poor and cannot buy land, instead they clear rainforest land to grow their crops. The soil in tropical rainforests is so insufficient in nutrients, and farmers are unable to reuse the same land year after year. After the soil has been used up, the farmers move onto other areas of the rainforest, therefore destroying more of the rainforest every year.
The tearing down of rainforests causes carbon dioxide to be released, which allows the greenhouse effect to occur. The greenhouse effect raises temperatures globally, and is the main reason for the melting of ice caps. The melting of the ice caps raises the sea level and causes major flooding around the world.
Stewards of the earth? We are destroying the earth piece by piece every year, not only the earth but one of the only thing allowing us to breathe clean oxygen. We are not stewards of the earth, and we're affecting it negatively than any other species ever could.
If you want to see some of the amazing beauty within the rainforests, this video is great:
Watch it in HD!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HfeBP3vaEI
"Rainforest Facts." Save The Rainforest. Web. 24 Jan. 2010.
"Rainforest Facts :: Environmental Facts :: Young People's Trust for the Environment." Young People's Trust for the Environment - Information for Kids on Climate change and other environmental facts and charities. Web. 24 Jan. 2010.
"The Rainforests: IV. Destruction of the Rainforest." Dave's Site / davesite.com. Web. 24 Jan. 2010.
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