Causes and Impact of Deforestation

What percentage of global deforestation is caused by agricultural expansion?

• 74%

• 19%

• 47%

• 6%

Small-scale activities such as subsistence agriculture, fuel-wood collection and charcoal are the main cause of deforestation in which world region?

• Africa

• South-East Asia

• South America

• Europe

What percentage of all forests worldwide are impacted by wildfires?

• 5%

• 9%

• 18%

• 1%

Which of the following is true regarding the impacts of wildfires on forests?

• Wildfires damage forests in the short term, however they will regenerate very well as fire is a natural part of all forest ecosystems.

• Wildfires will reduce a forested area to a weedy grassland. Forests tend not to grow back from wildfires.

• The impacts of wildfires will vary greatly depending on the type of forest and the vegetation present. Different forest systems will react differently to wildfires.

• Wildfires don't have any impact, that's just the lies of the mainstream media.

What is the relationship between the amount of political corruption in a country, and the amount of illegal logging?

• More corruption = More illegal logging

• Less corruption = More Illegal logging

• Corruption has no relationship to illegal logging

• Illegal logging causes corruption

How might climate change impact forest cover?

• Warmer temperatures mean trees will grow better, increasing forest cover.

• Changes to temperature and precipitation will cause all forests to shrink.

• Forests may migrate as geographic range for forest species change.

• More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will help trees grow, as they breath in CO2 and breath out oxygen.

How do government subsidies for agriculture increase deforestation?

• This costs money which could otherwise be spend on forest protection initiatives.

• The subsidies make agriculture more economically beneficial relative to industries that use the ecosystem services of intact forests.

• Government subsidies are often paid out by right leaning Neo-liberal governments that want to exploit forests and eliminate indigenous populations

• Agricultural subsidies ensure food security, leading to population increases that in turn place more pressure on forest ecosystems.

Select all human factors that can cause deforestation

• Forest management laws/regulations are difficult to enforce due to the inherent remote and dense nature of forested areas.

• Wars and civil disruption displace populations which may place pressure on forest biomes.

• The desire for economic growth demands industrial expansion to alleviate poverty in developing nations, often at the cost of forests.

• Infrastructure improvement factors such as mines, dams and transport systems.

Which of the following are natural causes of deforestation?

• Climate change

• Insect pests and diseases

• Wildfires

• Ocean tide strengths

Deforestation is...

• An impact

• A cause

• A response

• A process