Deforestation and Land Use

• Humans use land for:

  • Building
  • Quarrying
  • Farming
  • Dumping waste
• What is deforestation?

  The cutting down of forests
• Why is deforestation used?

  Make space for farming livestock and growing crops
• How does deforestation affect carbon dioxide levels?

  • Less carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere through photosynthesis
  • Carbon dioxide released when trees are burnt to clear space
  • Microorganisms feeding on dead wood release carbon dioxide through respiration
  • Trees cant 'lock up' carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for hundreds of years
• Does deforestation increase or decrease biodiversity?

  Decrease
• What other habitat apart from forests are destroyed that affects carbon dioxide levels negatively?

  Peat bogs
• What is a bog?

  Land that is waterlogged and acidic
• Why don't plants fully decay in bogs?

  Not enough oxygen
• What do partially-rotted plants pile up to form?

  Peat
• Where does the carbon from half-decayed plants go instead of the atmosphere in a bog?

  Into the peat
• How are peat bogs destroyed?

  Drained
• What is peat used for?

  Fuel and compost
• Is Peat being used faster or slower than it is being formed?

  Faster
• What happens when peat comes into contact with air?

  Microorganisms start to decompose it releasing carbon dioxide
• What harmful gas is produced when peat is burnt?

  Carbon dioxide