Deforestation of the Amazon – Causes and Solutions
Kevin Harris, Author
It is always interesting to read statistics about the rainforest. Alarming data is at our fingertips regarding loss of species and habitat. To truly understand the magnitude of the loss one should see it first hand. Seeing is believing, yet before we can proceed to commit to change we should understand the dynamic behind its destruction.
Causes of Deforestation
When assessing the causes of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, there are two major factors at play. Firstly, the desire for red meat is now the leading cause of deforestation! Why? Because at least one acre of forest must be cleared in order to grow grass to feed one cow that will end up on the dinner table of someone other that the person who owns the land. The Brazilian Amazon is one of the world’s leading sources of beef.
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The second cause of deforestation in the Amazon gets back to the fact that small farmers who are the guardians of the rainforest for better or worse have to eat. It has become necessary to raise crops since the animals that the indigenous people of the forest once relied, have moved deeper into the forest to escape the onslaught of man. Growing crops may seem to be a good idea from the animal’s point of view, but it is actually more threatening to their survival than the shotgun. The nature of the rainforest soil is nutrient poor in spite of the fact that the forest floor is covered with organic matter in various stages of decomposition. The struggle for survival of the millions of plants and trees rob the soil of any nutrients it may receive as soon as it’s available. Roots reach out in all directions searching for food above and below ground. Some trees such as the strangler fig have even resorted to cannibalizing other trees in its will to survive.
Rainforest Soil–The Soil Profile of the Tropical Rainforest
Underneath the leaves of the tropical forest floor is not the rich black humus that we might expect to see in a forest of lesser density, but a bed of sand. It is this sandy nutrient poor soil that is left after the trees are cut and turned into charcoal for daily cooking fuel that the subsistence farmer of the tropical rainforest must use to grow his crops. Bananas and cassava will grow in these conditions but only for a while. Soon the soil will bear no more fruit and more land must be cleared in 3 to 4 years to start another plot leaving a stripped forest in its wake and a diminished habitat for animals who also must be resourceful to survive on fewer and fewer trees.
These are the factors that are responsible for the wholesale denudation, as I have seen it. There is another even more sinister and seemingly less visible problem occurring especially in Peru where old growth primary forest with large trees still exist, and that is the cutting of Mahogany and other trees for often the price of a case of beer.
Solutions to Deforestation
What can be done? What is the solution to deforestation? Begin by coming to see the rainforest in all its majesty while you can. You don’t need to read about it to understand its significance to our planet’s survival, you need only to feel it, and hear it, and smell it, and taste the fruit of it.
Protect it, learn about it, work with anyone and everyone dedicated to the tropical rainforest’s preservation. But most importantly visit the rainforest, and listen to its voice. Volunteer if you can. Help the tribal people of the tropical rainforest stand fast and strong before the logging companies.
Join rainforest conservation clubs and groups to learn about ecology and pass the knowledge to young people in our cities who seldom see a tree.
Appreciate that which is around you for you never know how long it, or you, may last. Your actions are the solution to deforestation.
