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Deforestation

Reading: Pages 49-54 in Levine and Miller (sections on forests)

Chapter 9 in Cox

Stark, N.M. and C.F. Jordan. 1978. Nutrient retention by the root mat of an Amazonian rain forest. Ecology 59(3) pp. 434-437

1. Succession
2. 1. general trends in succession:

   a) Early seral stages are highly productive but require large inputs of nutrients and also tend to lose nutrients

   b) Consequences of farming in rain forests

   c) Mature biomes good at utilizing nutrients

   Video: 19219 (diagram), 18997, 18998 (bog), 17551, 17552 (lake)

   Pioneer Community	Climax Community
   Harsh environment	favorable environment
   biomass increasing	biomass stable
   energy consumption inefficient	energy consumption efficient
   some nutrient loss	nutrient cycling
   low species diversity	high species diversity
   fluctuations common	fluctuations less common
   r - adapted	K - adapted

3. Types of Forests
4. 1. temperate deciduous forests
   2. 1. form band south of taiga in northern hemisphere
      2. growing season between 140-300 days
      3. from 75-150 cm rain/year
      4. complex understory, some species flower in spring before canopy leafs out
      5. nuts an important food source
      6. more nutrients tied up in trees

      Video: 16622, 18126, 18658-18662, 19225 (food chain)

   3. Taiga
   4. 1. Band of forests south of tundra in northern hemisphere
      2. Growing season around 130 days
      3. From 40-100 cm rain/year
      4. Simple understory of mosses and lichens
      5. Explosive growing season
      6. Nesting area for migrating birds
      7. Taiga – Russian for swampland
   5. Tropical Rain Forests
   6. 1. South America, Africa, Asia, some tropical islands
      2. 365 day growing season
      3. more than 200 cm rain/year
      4. extremely complex canopy
      5. no understory except at edges - jungle
      6. highly diverse
      7. many arboreal species and epiphytes
      8. all nutrients held in trees
      9. laterite soils - high in aluminum and iron
      10. may take 1,000 years for full successional recovery
   7. tropical deciduous forests
   8. 1. like tropical rain forest, but pronounced dry season
      2.  
      3. Videodisc:

   18718 - aerial view 18719 - same 18720 - same (closer) 18720 - river 18721 - river bank 18722 - river bank 18723 - emergent 18724 - forest floor 18725 - flowering trees 18726 - layering 18727 - hillside 18728 - aerial 18729 - bromeliad 18730 - clearing 18731 - buttressed tree 18732 - stream 18735 - liana vines 18736 - clearing 18737 - base of tree 18738 - thorns 18739 - tree fern 18740 - Cassia 18741 - Warscewiczia 18742 - ? 18743 - club moss and ferns 18744 - palm sprouts 18745 - bananas 18745 - breadfruit 18746 - pliodendrons and heliconias 18747 - ginger 18748 - heliconias 18749 - passionflower 18750 - seeds 18751 - coffee tree 18752 - cocoa tree 18753 - cocoa nuts

   18753 - cockroach 18755 - fungus 18756 - morpho butterfly 18757 - butterfly 18758 - grape shoemaker butterfly 18759 - glasswing butterfly 18760 - glasswing butterfly 18761 - bamboo phage butterfly 18762 - anartia butterfly 18763 - lady slipper butterfly 18764 - katydid 18765 - katydid 18766 - dead-leaf mantis 18767 - dead-leaf mantis 18768 - dead-leaf mantis 18769 - preying mantis, hatching 18770 - walkingstick 18771 - walkingstick 18772 - walkingstick 18773 - leaf-footed bug 18773 - grasshopper 18774 - army ants 18775 - ants 18776 - bubble-nest (frogs) 18777 - poison-arrow frog 18778 - toad 18779 - leaf frog 18780 - blacksmith frog 18781 - blacksmith frog eggs 18782 - blacksmith frog eggs, embryos 18783 - blacksmith frog eggs 18784 - south american bullfrog 18785 - coral snake - poisonous 18786 - king snake - beneficial 18787 - coral snake mimic 31298 - toucan 16524 - bird-of-paradise 16752 - orangutan

   Rain Forest Destruction

   19003 - rain forest destruction

   19004 - fire

   19005 - after fire

   19006 - after fire

   19007 - denuded slope

   19008 - road building

   19009 - tin mine

   19010 - deforestation

   19011 - aerial view

   19156 - space view

   29975 - Brazilian Indians

5. Nutrient Cycling in Rain Forests
6. 1. Mycorrhizae
   2. 1. in rain forest, fungal filaments may surround or actually penetrate roots
      2. direct nutrient cycling - nutrients move from dead organic matter into roots without entering soil
      3. Venezuela - mats 15 to 40 cm thick
      4. 1. absorb 100% of Calcium and phosphorous
      5. Climax forest roots near surface, successional roots run deeper
7. Forest Destruction:
8. 1. Causes:
   2. 1. Population Growth
      2. 1. Sustenance farming
      3. Economic Development
      4. 1. Timber – particularly Asia
         2. Cattle
   3. Impacts:
   4. 1. Reduced species diversity
      2. 1. Up to 30K species per year!
      3. Increased Global warming
      4. 1. Deforestation releases CO₂
         2. Cut forests cannot take up CO₂
      5. Changes in rainfall patterns
   5.  

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