Deforestation is commonly thought to be the clearing of forests when, in reality, it is a much more complex process that takes place over a long period of time. There is evidence to suggest that even ancient civilizations all across the globe experienced deforestation (Bhagwat, Kettle, & Koh, 2014). To look at the historical patterns of deforestation and forest fragmentation, one must examine the root causes and consider different factors that took place at the time and ultimately lead to deforestation. Shonil Bhagwat argues in his article the History of Deforestation and Forest Fragmentations: Global perspective, that human interactions with the land is one of the main causes of deforestation. His analysis of different continents – Asia, …show more content…
This paper will compare and contrast the Greek and Roman Civilizations of the Mediterranean and Europe, as well as the late classical Copan River and Mayans in North America; through these comparisons, one can gain insight into the long-term effects and implications of deforestation on ancient …show more content…
High demand for the abundant fuelwood kept Roman and Greek woodcutters occupied (Hughes & Thirgood, 1982). The demands brought about the development of skilled trades, and many men had a steady source of work, such as the Achranians of Aristophans (448-388 B.C.) (Hughes &Thirgood, 1982). The burning of charcoal and wood was also used to harden ceramics, and Greeks and Romans used the energy to melt metals and help make tools and weapons. Ancient writers mention how the burning of wood was used to heat up water in Roman bathing establishments. According to Donald Hughes, miners and smelters required a large amount of fuel, and an estimated one million acres were required to supply the need of the people at the time (Hughes & Thirgood, 1982) (Wiseman, 1983). Unsurprisingly, the need for fuel is considered one of the major causes of deforestation in the Roman and Greek civilizations. Other ancient civilizations were no strangers to
This may have enabled Classic Mayan Civilization to thrive and proliferate in many aspects of society, but soon lead to an unsustainably-growing population, overexploitation, and vulnerability to widespread drought, inflicting areas from the Northern Yucatán Peninsula to Central Petén. In the “Impacts of Climate Change on the Collapse of Lowland Maya Civilization” scholarly article, an abundance of evidence is shown to support claims that climate did indeed shape the downfall of Maya civilization. Up until the 21st century, most hypotheses surrounding the fall of Classic Maya society had been based on qualitative data. Backed up with detailed paleoclimate research, connections to archaeological research, geochemical records, and more, this article provided substantial quantitative analysis, mostly a compendium of climate proxy data. It inferenced that further research and critical analysis of human’s past relationship with climate change between experts from different, related fields could prove to be insightful for future climate implications, and in terms of environmental crisis management, we could learn a thing or two
Deforestation has accumulated many multifaceted controversies over time. The main one, however, is the impact deforestation has on water flow. People have different perceptions on how deforestation affects the flow of water, this lead to a controversy between conservationists and a group of theorists. Many years ago, water was used as a way for almost all the mills to function. Changes in the ecosystem depend on the rate and extent of deforestation and determines how drastic the changes will be.
"Collapse: Why Do Civilizations Fall?" Out of the Past. Annenburg/CPB Multimedia. 1998. *http://www.learner.org/exhibits/collapse/mayans.html* (30 Jan. 2001).
“The Earth is 4.6 billion years old. Scaling to 46 years, human have been here 4 hours, the industrial revolution began 1 minute ago, and in that time, we’ve destroyed more than half the world’s forests.” - Unknown. One major environmental problem in our world is deforestation - what is that, you ask? According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, deforestation is the action or process of clearing of forests. Some consequences of this include a large contribution to global warming and climate change (about 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide each year), loss of biodiversity especially in tropical rainforests, and the extinction of many known or yet to be discovered species. But, through some Debt-for-Nature Swaps, leaving forests
Therefore, a large amount of trees were cut down and led to forest destruction. People have done these kinds of activities for many years and these deforestation activities have brought about a lot of permanent and long term issues. Although the society has started to consider the problem of deforestation, it is not easy to solve the issues completely. Land desertification can be a huge area and it almost cannot be controlled. In addition, it is not only threatening the people and animals in the Amazon, the world is also threatened by deforestation.
Deforestation began with man’s ability to manipulate his environment. Wood has always been a primary source for shelter and has been affected by human expansion. As the worlds population grew, so to did the need for wood to make housing. As cities grew so did the demand for space to accommodate the growing population. Throughout history and even today, man has manipulated the environment affecting it’s resources.
Deforestation is a widely used term, but one with different meanings. Disturbance deforestation refers to all man made disturbances that alter a forest, these are the most common. This argumentative essay discusses the positive and negative aspects of deforestation. In the first part of the essay the pro arguments of deforestation will be discussed. For example, the issue of Global population and how forests are being used, land use and the ways forests contribute, wood use, forest growth, destruction and the reasons for cutting down the trees. The second half of the essay will cover the issues that are harmful to the environment because of deforestation. Many environmental issues take place everyday; a big question that arises, is if the global economy will ever finds middle on the issue of forest thinning. If deforestation was used only in the most crucial of times, the world might become a better place.
As the basic material for buildings, transportation, and fuel, wood was a necessity for the growth and development of the ancient civilizations. Wood was the key resource used in the construction of houses and ships and it was the primary fuel source for light and heat in households and public facilities. As a result of the many needs the resource satisfied, the word wood in the Greek and Latin languages was synonymous with substance or matter (Hughes P. 74). The constant use and growing demand of lumber generated negative externalities on the environment.
Deforestation, defined by biologist Charles Southwick as "the destruction of forests; may involve clear-cutting or selective logging" (p. 365), is a predominantly human-driven process that is dramatically altering ecosystems worldwide. "Clear-cutting" involves the indiscriminant removal of every single plant and tree species from within a selected area. The other major process of deforestation, "selective logging," focuses removal efforts on only specific, predetermined tree species within a chosen area. The statistics gathered about human deforestation over time are considerable, and they can be somewhat controversial. Depending on the source and the location selected, the magnitude of deforestation varies. Southwick estimates that, approximately 10,000 years ago, 6.2 billion hectares (23.9 million square miles) of forest existed on earth (p. 117). That figure is equivalent to 45.5% of the earth's total land. He further estimates that, by 1990, this amount had declined 30%, with only 4.3 billion hectares of forest remaining (p. 117). Southwick also acknowledges other estimates that place the total amount of deforestation between 50% and 75% (p. 117). NASA has similar deforestation statistics that confirm these trends. According to their website, 16.5% of the Brazilian Amazon forests have been destroyed. They also note similar magnitudes of deforestation in Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam), despite the significantly smaller total area of forest within these countries. These grim figures are somewhat tempered by the NASA finding that, over the past ten years, the deforestation rate has declined from 6,200 square miles per year to 4,800 square miles per year. Though this trend is n...
Though deforestation has increased at an alarming rate throughout the past fifty years, deforestation has been performed during the course of history. According to the World Resources Institute, a majority of the world’s enduring naturally occurring forests are found in Alaska, Canada, Russia and the Northwestern Amazon. Research has demonstrated forests are more likely to be destroyed and repurposed where economic revenues tied to agriculture and pasture are prominent, typically attributed to advantageous weather conditions, or lower expenses of demolishing the forest and delivering merchandises to the global
Forests are vital for life and have many important functions. They are home to millions of species and protect soil from erosion. Along with this they produce oxygen which is vital for human life, store carbon dioxide and help control climate. They also provide humans with shelter, food and medicines vital for life.
Scientists themselves are just beginning to understand the serious problems caused by deforestation. Deforestation occurs all over the world by all types of people. Peasant farmers even add to the problem because in most tropical countries the farmers are very poor only making between eight hundred and fifty four hundred dollars annually (NASA Facts). Therefore, they do not have enough money to buy what they need to live therefore they must farm to raise crops for food and to sell. In these poor countries the majority of people are peasant farmers this farming adds up to a great deal of deforestation. These farmers chop down a small area of trees for there plot to farm on and burn the tree trunks (NASA Facts). The combined number of farmers maintaining this process creates a great deal of clearing and burning of the land they need to cultivate, which results in land being treeless. Commercial logging is also another common form of deforestation. This commercial logging wipes out massive amounts of land sometimes deforesting several miles at...
People have been deforesting the Earth for thousands of years, primarily to clear land for crops or livestock. Although tropical forests are largely confined to developing countries, they aren’t just meeting local or national needs; economic globalization means that the needs and wants of the global population are bearing down on them as well. Direct causes of deforestation are agricultural expansion, wood extraction (e.g., logging or wood harvest for domestic fuel or charcoal), and infrastructure expansion such as road building and urbanization. Rarely is there a single direct cause for deforestation. Most often, multiple processes work simultaneously or sequentially to cause deforestation.
Allen, Julia C., and Douglas F. Barnes. "The Cause of Deforestation in Developing Countries." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 1985: 163-184. Print.
Deforestation is the amputation of trees from forest areas more swiftly than they can be replanted or regenerate naturally. The fact that trees play an incredibly momentous part in stabilising climate, atmospheric composition and soil structure, removing trees rapidly becomes a major problem. There are numerous reasons behind the felling of trees by mankind. The Amazon basin is a prime example of humans exploiting rainforests. Within this tropical rainforest lie a vast variety of tree species, with many uses, giving humans even more reason to exploit this area.