Global impacts:
● Global warming
○ Tree canopy absorbs CO 2 from the atmosphere → stops as soon as trees are felled
○ Fire is used to clear rainforests → carbon stored in wood is released
○ Deforestation contributes to the greenhouse effect
● Loss of biodiversity
○ Reduced biodiversity
○ Individual species become endangered and extinct
■ 137 species lost daily due to deforestation
■ 50000 species lost a year
○ Many possible cures for diseases disappear
○ Parts of the rainforest could lose between 30% and 45% of main species by 2030
Local impacts:
● Climate change
○ Disrupts water cycle
○ Evapotranspiration reduced and less moisture returns to atmosphere → drier
○ Recycling of water acts as a cooling system
○ When water recycling is reduced, climate becomes warmer
○ Combination of dryness and rising temperatures is not good for people or activities
● Soil erosion and fertility
○ After forest cover is cleared → thin topsoil is removed by heavy rainfall
○ Bare slopes prone to soil erosion → little chance of anything growing again
○ Soil loses the fertility it had when it was covered by trees
■ Grazing and plantations cannot keep fertility
■ Leads to pastures and plantations being abandoned
● River pollution
○ During gold mining → mercury used to separate gold enters rivers
■ Poisons fish and people in nearby towns
○ Rivers also being polluted by soil erosion
Decline of native tribes
○ Only 240 tribes left out of 330 (in 1900)
○ Many tribes have been forced out of rainforest by
■ Construction of roads
■ Logging
■ Creation of ranches, plantations and reservoirs
■ Opening of mines
○ Displaced people cannot adjust
■ Addiction to drugs/alcohol
■ High infant mortality
○ Detailed knowledge of the forest gone
■ eg/ tribes knew about medicinal value of various rainforest species
● Conflicts
○ Disputes between indigenous and loggers
○ People have conflicting views about rainforest