Deforestation & Land Use

• What is deforestation?

  The large scale clearance of trees from an area
• Which of the following human activities does NOT reduce the amount of land available for plants and animals?

  Burning fossil fuels

  • Burning fossil fuels is bad for the environment, but it doesn't reduce the land available for plants and animals. 
• Give three reasons for deforestation.

  To clear land for agriculture

  Logging for wood

  Mining 
• Three main problems with deforestation

  1. There will be fewer trees carrying out photosynthesis and absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This means there is more carbon dioxide contributing to global warming. 
  2. Deforestation often involves burning the trees, which releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
  3. It destroys animals' habitats, meaning that fewer species can survive. This reduces biodiversity. 
• Which two of the following describe the soil of peat bogs? 

  Acidic

  Waterlogged 
• Do peat bogs have high or low levels of oxygen?

  • Low
  • The soil is waterlogged, so there is no space for air (and hence oxygen). 
• Do peat bogs have higher or lower levels of aerobic respiration, as compared to normal soils?

  • Lower
  • There's not very much oxygen, so there isn't very much aerobic respiration. 
• Do peat bogs decay organic matter more or less than normal soils?

  • Less
  • Decomposition requires aerobic bacteria, so the lack of oxygen reduces decomposition.
• Do peat bogs act as carbon sinks?

  • yes
  • The dead organic matter doesn't decay as much, and so a lot of the carbon stays in the soil.
• Many areas of peat bog have been destroyed. Which two human activities contribute to peat bog destruction?


  • Cutting out the peat to burn as a fuel
  • Draining the peat to use the land for agriculture
• Explain how draining peat bogs contributes to global warming.

  • The draining of water allows air (and oxygen) to return to the soil
  • This allows microorganism to carry out aerobic respiration and decay the organic matter 
  • This releases CO2 which acts as a greenhouse gas, and contributes to global warming