Which is a cause of deforestation?

cattle ranching. Forest is cleared to make pasture.

How does deforestation contribute to climate change?

It releases carbon dioxide and removes trees that absorb it. Trees are a store of carbon.

What happens to soil after rainforest is cleared?

It is eroded by heavy rain and loses its nutrients. The tree roots and leaf cover that protected it have gone.

What is selective logging?

cutting only chosen trees and leaving the rest. The forest can recover between harvests.

Which strategy earns income from a forest that is left standing?

ecotourism. Visitors pay to see the forest and its wildlife.

Threats to rainforests and how they are managed · Cambridge IGCSE Geography (9

In plain words

Tropical rainforest is being cleared faster than it can ever grow back, because the land, the timber and what lies under the ground can all be turned into money. The losses are local, and they are global.

7 things to know

Causes of deforestation: logging for timber; cattle ranching; commercial farming of crops such as soya and palm oil; subsistence farming; mining; roads and railways; hydroelectric dams, which flood large areas; and new settlements.
Environmental impacts: loss of habitats and species; soil left bare is washed away and loses its fertility; rivers silt up and flood.
With fewer trees there is less evapotranspiration, so rainfall decreases. Burning and rotting trees release carbon dioxide, adding to climate change.
Social impacts: indigenous peoples lose their land and way of life. Economic impacts: jobs, exports and income in the short term, but the resource is gone in the long term.
Selective logging takes only chosen trees and leaves the rest to grow. Replanting replaces what is cut. Agroforestry grows crops among trees.
Protected areas such as national parks and reserves ban clearance. Ecotourism earns money from the forest while it is standing.
International action: agreements that pay countries to keep their forests, schemes that certify timber from well-managed forests, and satellite monitoring to detect illegal clearance.

Worked example

Evaluate ecotourism as a way of protecting rainforest.

For: it gives local people jobs and income that depend on the forest being kept, so they have a reason to protect it.
For: numbers are small and visitors are educated about the forest.
Against: it earns far less than logging or ranching, it reaches few areas, and too many visitors would damage the forest.
Judgement: it is sustainable and useful locally, but too small on its own to stop large-scale clearance.

Tips and tricks

Give impacts at different scales: local (soil erosion, lost land for indigenous people) and global (climate change, lost species).
"Sustainable" management meets today's needs without destroying the forest for the future. Selective logging and ecotourism are the usual examples.

5 questions, about 2 minutes.

It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.

Threats to rainforests and how they are managed: 5 questions and answers

These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.

Which is a cause of deforestation?
- ecotourism
- cattle ranching (the answer)
- selective logging with replanting
- national parks
Forest is cleared to make pasture.
How does deforestation contribute to climate change?
- It increases rainfall.
- It releases carbon dioxide and removes trees that absorb it. (the answer)
- It cools the air.
- It reflects sunlight.
Trees are a store of carbon.
What happens to soil after rainforest is cleared?
- It becomes more fertile.
- It is eroded by heavy rain and loses its nutrients. (the answer)
- It turns to rock.
- Nothing changes.
The tree roots and leaf cover that protected it have gone.
What is selective logging?
- cutting all the trees in an area
- cutting only chosen trees and leaving the rest (the answer)
- burning the forest
- planting palm oil
The forest can recover between harvests.
Which strategy earns income from a forest that is left standing?
- cattle ranching
- mining
- ecotourism (the answer)
- soya farming
Visitors pay to see the forest and its wildlife.

5 questions

Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.

Worksheet

3 questions, 12 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.

Threats to rainforests and how they are managed

Cambridge IGCSE Geography (9–1) 0976 · 12 marks · papermunch.org

Name ______________________________ Date ______________

Explain two causes of deforestation in tropical rainforests.[4]
Show answerHide answer
Cattle ranching: large areas are cleared to grow grass for cattle. Logging: trees are cut down for valuable timber, and roads built for logging open the forest up to settlers.
I got this one
Explain two environmental impacts of deforestation.[4]
Show answerHide answer
Soil erosion: without trees the heavy rain washes the soil away. Climate change: burning the trees releases carbon dioxide, and fewer trees are left to absorb it.
I got this one
Describe two strategies for managing rainforests sustainably.[4]
Show answerHide answer
Selective logging: only some trees are cut, so the forest can recover. Protected areas: national parks where clearing is banned. (Also: ecotourism, agroforestry.)
I got this one

Answers: Threats to rainforests and how they are managed

1. Cattle ranching: large areas are cleared to grow grass for cattle. Logging: trees are cut down for valuable timber, and roads built for logging open the forest up to settlers.
2. Soil erosion: without trees the heavy rain washes the soil away. Climate change: burning the trees releases carbon dioxide, and fewer trees are left to absorb it.
3. Selective logging: only some trees are cut, so the forest can recover. Protected areas: national parks where clearing is banned. (Also: ecotourism, agroforestry.)