Clearcutting Lesson

Clearcutting

Word Cloud

Using 1 or 2 key words, why are trees important?

Open Ended

With your current knowledge, what is one negative environmental impact of large scale deforestation?

Open Ended

With your current knowledge, what is one positive environmental impact of large scale deforestation?

Open Ended

Describe 1 thing that impacted you the most from this video.

Open Ended

Describe 1 benefit of clear cutting.

Soil Erosion

​Direct Effects of Clear Cutting

• Cause by loss of stabilizing root structures.​

• Removes organic soil & nutrients (humus/topsoil)

• Deposits sediments in local streams (turbidity)
  

Increased soil & steam temp.

​Direct Effects of Clear Cutting

• Loss of tree shade increases soil temperatures: soil has a lower albedo than leaves

• Loss of tree shade increases water temperatures: soil erosion also contributes to increased water temperatures.
  

Flooding & Landslides

​Direct Effects of Clear Cutting

• Logging machinery compacts soil.

• Increased sunlight dries out soil.

• Loss of root structure increases erosion and decreases the soils water holding capacity.
  

​Areas where the same species of tree is repeatedly planted, grown and harvested.

Tree Plantations

Biodiverse forest are replaced with a single species.

​Less diversity = lower resilience

Decreased habitat diversity for other organisms.

​​Lowers biodiversity

Sections are planted at the same time.
All are harvested at the same time.
Lack of dead trees in forest continues to lower biodiversity (woodpeckers, insects, decomposers...)

​​All the same age

​Stomata (leaf pores) remove Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Nitrogen Oxides, Particulate Matters and more from the air and store in trees.

​​Filters pollutants

Many organisms live in forest.

​​Provides habitats

​Trees take in Carbon dioxide, store carbon as sugar, wood, other tissues, and release Oxygen.

Carbon sequestering

Open Ended

Describe two ecosystem services provided for humans by forests.

Open Ended

Explain how clear cutting would affect each ecosystem service you described.