Forests Exam 1

Forest Definintion

Shapes how we measure, manage and protect forests. Different definitions can lead to inconsistencies

Types of forest definitions

Developed Land (city)

Forest Land

Woodland/Shrubland

Agricultural Land

Forest loss vs Forest gain

Loss is easy to detect, but gain is hard to monitor
Natural vs plantation

Regrowth vs Degradation

Three main forest types

Boreal
Temperate
Tropical

Boreal Forest

Aka taiga
Northern

long cold and short growing seasons

29% of total forest area

needle trees

Temperate Forest

Mid latitudes
For seasons

nutrient rich soil

broad leaf trees
mix of needle leaves

Tropical Forest

along equator
warm and wet

high species richness

> 60mm precip per month

Scientific Article

Something a scientist wrote
peer-reviewed
Different types(empirical, modeling, opition review)

Agroindustry

Part of the economy that deals with large-scale production of agriculture products using modern equipment

Commodity

A basic good that can be sold
Agricultural
Metals
Energy

Livestock

Deforestation Driver

What caused the forest to be lost

Food

Wood

Cities
natural causes

Land use change

How a land use has changed(recreation to industrial)

Subsistence agriculture

Planting crops to consume

Edge Effect

Found on the edge of open area and forest
Dispersal barrier

Human proximity

Result in higher mortatlity

Palm oil

cheap vegetable oil used in products
land is deforested to make room for nurseries
highest in indonesia and malaysia

Global Biodiversity Hotspots

25 spots found based on 2 criteria
1. Species endemism: Contains species not elsewhere in the world found outside of its area

2. Degree of threat: region must have lost 70% of its original vegetation

Deforestation in Amazon

Initial wave in 1970
Expanded protected areas
Enforced forest code
Decreased in 2000’s but now is rising again

Brazil’s Soy Moratorium

Moratorium: Companies wouldn’t buy soy from soy traders who get soy from clearing rainforest, use slave labor or threaten indigenous lands.

First voluntary deforestation in 2006

Significantly reduced soy production in amazon

Zero deforestation pledge

Zero deforestation = no forests cleared
Zero net deforestation = forests cleared but equivalent is planted elsewhere

Conservation Substitution

Decrease in one threat could be replaced by another threat

If soy products price rise, customers switch to alternative

Cerrado

Savannah that links brazilan forests
5% of worlds biodiversity
30% of brazil’s diversity

800 tree species

Bare trees, but huge root system

Conservation Leakage

Displacing a threat from one area to another unprotected area