Characterization of Deforestation

Chapter III Deforestation

Lesson   1

Characterization of Deforestation

Terms and expressions

deforestation	– обезлесение; вырубка леса
drought	– засуха
loss of biodiversity	– исчезновение биоразнообразия
extinction of species	– вымирание видов
carbon dioxide	– углекислый газ
arable land	– пахотные земли
grainfields	– поля под зерновые культуры
degraded environment	– ухудшение состояния окружающей среды
reduced biodiversity	– снижение биоразнообразия
uncontrolled grazing	– неконтролируемый выпас скота
hydrologic cycle	– круговорот воды в природе
groundwater	– подземные воды
recharge of aquifers	– питание водоносного пласта почвы
flash flooding	– внезапное наводнение
evapotranspiration	– испарение осадков
greenhouse effect	–парниковый эффект
glaciation	– образование ледников
desertification	– опустынивание
forest cover	– лесной покров
full wood cutting	– вырубка леса с целью заготовки топлива
commercial logging	– вырубка леса в коммерческих целях
slash and burn techniques	– сжигание порубочных остатков (вместе с валежником)
forest clearing	– очистка лесосек и мест рубок
annual crops	– однолетние культуры
over-grazing	– выбивание пастбища скотом
purlieu	– место прогулок

Introductory exercises

1. Переведите следующие предложения на русский язык:

1. Deforestation is a process of clearing forests.

2. Rates of deforestation are particularly high in the tropics, where the poor quality of the soil has led to the practice of routine clear –cutting to make new soil available for agriculture use.

3. Deforestation can lead to erosion, drought, loss of biodiversity through extinction of plant and animal species, and increased atmospheric carbon dioxide.

4. Many nations have undertaken afforestation or reforestation projects to reverse the effects of deforestation, or to increase available timber.

5. Biodiversity is diversity of plant and animal species in an environment.

6. Sometimes habitat diversity (the variety of places where organisms live) and genetic diversity (diversity of genetic information within a species; that is, the number of distinct populations of a species) are also considered types of biodiversity.

7. The estimated 3-30 million species on earth are divided unequally among the world’s habitats, with 50-90% of the world species diversity occurring in tropical regions.

8. The more diverse a habitat, the better chance it has of surviving a change or threat to it, because it is more likely to be able to make a balancing adjustment.

9. Habitats with little biodiversity (e.g. Arctic tundra) are more vulnerable to change.

2. Найдите в тексте и переведите словосочетания:

    Conversion of forested areas to non-forest land; destruction of forest cover; to result in a degraded environment; to shape climate and geography; sufficient reforestation; biodiversity loss; sudden wildfires; urban development; the natural regeneration of young trees; edge effects; habitat fragmentation; to magnify the effects; an outcome of slash-and-burn techniques; to alter the hydrologic cycle; to foster medicinal conservation; to destroy genetic variations; shrinking forest cover; to intercept and transport precipitation; subsurface flows; localized floods; to lessen atmospheric moisture; long-term gains; important stores of organic carbon; to extract pollutants from the air; human related causes; urban sprawl; petroleum exploration; to mitigate the effects; to reduce forest quality; alternative land use; a forest cover removal; fuel wood cutting; shifting cultivation agricultural systems; forest clearing for annual crops; establishment of industrial forest plantations; non-forest land.

     3. Переведите устно (рекомендуется для зрительно-устного перевода с предварительной подготовкой):

Deforestation

Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land use such as arable land, urban use, logged area or wasteland. Historically, this meant conversion to grassland or to its artificial counterpart, grain fields; however, the Industrial Revolution added urbanization. Generally this removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. In developing countries, massive deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography.

Deforestation results from removal of trees without sufficient reforestation; however, even with reforestation, significant biodiversity loss may occur. There are many causes, ranging from slow forest degradation to sudden and catastrophic wildfires. Deforestation can be the result of the deliberate removal of forest cover for agriculture or urban development, or it can be an unintentional consequence of uncontrolled grazing (which can prevent the natural regeneration of young trees). The combined effect of grazing and fires can be a major cause of deforestation in dry areas. In addition to the direct effects brought about by forest removal, indirect effects caused by edge effects and habitat fragmentation can greatly magnify the effects of deforestation.

While tropical rainforest deforestation has attracted most attention, tropical dry forests are being lost at a substantially higher rate, primarily as an outcome of slash-and-burn techniques used by shifting cultivators.

Impact on the Environment

Deforestation alters the hydrologic cycle, altering the amount of water in the soil and groundwater and the moisture in the atmosphere. Forests support considerable biodiversity, providing valuable habitat for wildlife; moreover, forests foster medicinal conservation and the recharge of aquifers. With forest bioptopes being a major, irreplacable source of new drugs (like taxol), deforestation can destroy genetic variations (such as crop resistance) irretrievably.

Shrinking forest cover lessens the landscape's capacity to intercept, retain and transport precipitation. Instead of trapping precipitation, which then percolates to groundwater systems, deforested areas become sources of surface water runoff, which moves much faster than subsurface flows. That quicker transport of surface water can translate into flash flooding and more localized floods than would occur with the forest cover. Deforestation also contributes to decreased evapotranspiration, which lessens atmospheric moisture which in some cases affects precipitation levels downwind from the deforested area, as water is not recycled to downwind forests, but is lost in runoff and returns directly to the oceans; in deforested north and northwest China, the average annual precipitation decreased by one third between the 1950s and the 1980s.

Long - term gains can be obtained by managing forest lands sustainably to

maintain both forest cover and provide a biodegrable renewable resource. Forests are also important stores of organic carbon, and forests can extract carbon dioxide and pollutants from the air, thus contributing to biosphere stability and probably relevant to the greenhouse effect. Forests are also valued for their aesthetic beauty and as a cultural resource and tourist attraction.

Characterization

Deforestation is the loss or continual degradation of forest habitat primarily due to human related causes. Agriculture, urban sprawl, unsustainable forestry practices, mining, and petroleum exploration all contribute to human caused deforestation. Natural deforestation can be linked to tsunamis, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, glaciation and desertification, although the desertification process is driven primarily by human causes. The effects of human related deforestation can be mitigated through environmentally sustainable practices that reduce permanent destruction of forests or even act to preserve and rehabilitate disrupted.

Deforestation defined broadly can include not only conversion to non-forest, but also degradation that reduces forest quality - the density and structure of the trees, the ecological services supplied, the biomass of plants and animals, the species diversity and the genetic diversity. Narrow definition of deforestation is: the removal of forest cover to an extent that allows for alternative land use. The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) uses a broad definition of deforestation, while the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) uses a narrow definition.

Definitions can also be grouped as those which refer to changes in land cover and those which refer to changes in land use. Land cover measurements often use a percent of cover to determine deforestation. This type of definition has the advantage in that large areas can be easily measured, for example from satellite photos. A forest cover removal of 90% may still be considered forest in some cases. Under this definition areas that may have few values of a natural forest such as plantations and even urban or suburban areas may be considered forest.

Land use definitions measure deforestation by a change in land use. This definition may consider areas to be forest that are not commonly considered as such. An area can be lacking trees but still considered a forest. It may be a land designated for afforestation or an area designated administratively as forest.

The term deforestation is used to refer to for fuel wood cutting, commercial logging and the slash and burn technique, a component of some shifting cultivation agricultural systems. It is also used to describe forest clearing for annual crops, for over-grazing, and establishment of industrial forest plantations. The term also has a traditional legal sense of the conversion of Royal forest land into purlieu or other non-forest land.

     4. Переведите вопросы и ответьте на них:

1. What is deforestation?

2. What has deforestation resulted in?

3. What are the causes of deforestation?

4. What types of forests are mostly affected by deforestation? Why?

5. What is the effect of deforestation on the environment?

6. Could you characterize human-related deforestation and natural deforestation?

7. Define the difference between the broad and narrow deforestation of deforestation, will you?

8. What other ideas are used to define the term «deforestation» (land cover, land use, commercial logging etc)?

5. Переведите на слух:

    Wasteland; разрушение лесного покрова; sufficient reforestation; значительное уменьшение разнообразия видов растений и животных; unintentional consequence of uncontrolled grazing; основная причина обезлесения; edge effects and habitat fragmentation; ухудшать последствия обезлесения; shifting cultivators; изменять круговорот воды в природе; to provide valuable habitat for wildlife; уменьшенный лесной покров; to lessen atmospheric moisture; влиять на уровень осадков; average annual precipitation; парниковый эффект; unsustainable forestry practices; снижать качество лесных пород; an area with lacking trees; лесонасаждения; fuel wood cutting.

     6. Переведите письменно на русский язык и перескажите текст на английском языке:

Environmental effects

Atmospheric pollution

Deforestation is often cited as one of the major causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect. Trees and other plants remove carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere during the process of photosynthesis. Both the decay and burning of wood releases much of this stored carbon back to the atmosphere. A. J. Yeomans asserts in Priority One that overnight a stable forest releases exactly the same quantity of carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. Others state that mature forests are net sinks of CO2).

Wildlife

Some forests are rich in biological diversity. Deforestation can cause the destruction of the habitats that support this biological diversity - thus causing population shifts and extinctions. Numerous countries have developed Biodiversity Action Plans to limit clearcutting and slash and burn agricultural practices as deleterious to wildlife, particularly when endangered species are present.

Soil erosion

Deforestation generally increases rates of soil erosion, by increasing the amount of runoff and reducing the protection of the soil from tree litter. This can be an advantage in excessively leached tropical rain forest soils. Forestry operations themselves also increase erosion through the development of roads and the use of mechanized equipment.

China's Loess Plateau was cleared of forest millennia ago. Since then it has been eroding, creating dramatic incised valleys, and providing the sediment that gives the Yellow River its yellow color and that causes the flooding of the river in the lower reaches (hence the river's nick-name 'China's sorrow'). Removal of trees does not always increase erosion rates. In certain regions of southwest US, shrubs and trees have been encroaching on grassland. The trees themselves enhance the loss of grass between tree canopies. The bare intercanopy areas become highly erodible. The US Forest Service, in Bandelier National Monument for example, is studying how to restore the former ecosystem, and reduce erosion, by removing the trees.

Landslides

Tree roots bind soil together, and if the soil is sufficiently shallow they act to keep the soil in place by also binding with underlying bedrock. Tree removal on steep slopes with shallow soil thus  increases the risk of  landslides,

which can threaten people living nearby.

Controlling deforestation

Farming

New methods are being developed to farm more food crops on less farm land, such as high-yield hybrid crops, greenhouse, autonomous building gardens, and hydroponics. The reduced farm land is then dependent on massive chemical inputs to maintain necessary yields. In cyclic agriculture, cattle are grazed on farm land that is resting and rejuvenating. Cyclic agriculture actually increases the fertility of the soil. Selective over farming can also increase the nutrients by releasing such nutrients from the previously inert subsoil. The constant release of nutrients from the constant exposure of subsoil by slow and gentle erosion is a process that has been ongoing for billions of years.

Forest management

Efforts to stop or slow deforestation have been attempted for many centuries because it has long been known that deforestation can cause environmental damage sufficient in some cases to cause societies to collapse. In Tonga, paramount rulers developed policies designed to prevent conflicts between short-term gains from converting forest to farmland and long-term problems forest loss would cause, whilst during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Tokugawa Japan the shoguns developed a highly sophisticated system of long-term planning to stop and even reverse deforestation of the preceding centuries through substituting timber by other products and more efficient use of land that had been farmed for many centuries. In sixteenth century Germany landowners also developed silviculture to deal with the problem of deforestation. However, these policies tend to be limited to environments with good rainfall, no dry season and very young soils (through volcanism or glaciation). This is because on older and less fertile soils trees grow too slowly for silviculture to be economic, whilst in areas with a strong dry season there is always a risk of forest fires destroying a tree crop before it matures.

Afforestation

Today, in China, where large scale destruction of forests has occurred, the government has required that every able-bodied citizen between the ages of 11 and 60 plant three to five trees per year or do the equivalent amount of work in other forest services. The government claims that at least 1 billion trees have been planted in China every year since 1982. In western countries, increasing consumer demand for wood products that have been produced and harvested in a sustainable manner are causing forest landowners and forest industries to become increasingly accountable for their forest management and timber harvesting practices.

The Arbor Day Foundation's Rain Forest Rescue program is a charity that helps to prevent deforestation. The charity uses donated money to buy up and preserve rainforest land before the lumber companies can buy it. The Arbor Day Foundation then protects the land from deforestation. This also locks in the way of life of the primitive tribes living on the forest land.

7.Переведите письменно (рекомендуется для зрительно-письменного перевода):

1. Государственный лесной фонд России – совокупность всех лесов естественного происхождения и искусственно-выращенных.

2. В составе государственного лесного фонда России различают лесные площади (сельскохозяйственные угодья, просеки, дороги и т.п.).

3. Лесные культуры – это искусственно созданные лесные насаждения на месте вырубoк в безлесных районах, под пологом леса, который предназначен для рубки.

4. Лесные полосы – это искусственно созданные лесные насаждения

в виде лент из рядов деревьев, полезащитные, садозащитные, приовражные.

5. Лесные полосы задерживают снег, предотвращают эрозию почвы, защищают объекты от снежных и песчаных заносов.

6. Лесоустройство – это система мероприятий по организации и ведению лесного хозяйства.

7. Лесоустройство включает изучение и таксацию леса, инвентаризацию лесных насаждений, установление размеров и методов пользования лесом, способов рубок и их объемов, разработку рекомендаций для повышения продуктивности лесов.

8. Переведите устно (рекомендуется для перевода с «листа»):

Lesson 2

Causes of deforestation

Terms and expressions

forest wealth	– лесное «богатство»
productivity of forests	– продуктивность лесов
immense resources	– огромные ресурсы
saplings	– молодые деревца
marginal soils	– малоплодородные почвы
smallholders	– владельцы небольших земельных участков
to clear land for crops	– расчищать земли для посева зерновых культур
peat bogs	– торфяные болота
elm pollen	– пыльца вяза
silting of ports	– заиливание портов
cattle farming	– скотоводство
collect firewood	– заготавливать дрова
secondary forests	– вторичные леса, сменившие коренные леса
commodity prices	– цены на товары широкого потребления
pulp companies	– предприятия, производящие целлюлозу
soil exhaustion	– истощение почвы
disposable products	– одноразовая продукция
cattle grazing	– выпас скота
acid rains	– кислотные дожди
building of dams	– строительство плотин
chop down an area	– вырубать лес на участке
economically valuable species	– экономически ценные породы
heavy machinery	– оборудование
road graders	– дорожный струг, грейдер
log skidders	– трелевочный трактор
chainsaw	– пильная цепь
to harvest the forest	– вырубать лес

Introductory exercises

1. Переведите устно (рекомендуется для зрительно-устного перевода и для устного перевода на слух):

Mythical "Forest Wealth" of Russia

Greenpeace Russia, Institute of Space Research RAS, Centre for Ecological Problems and Productivity of Forests RAS and Global Forest Watch presented a unique map "Forest Landscapes of Russia". This is the first since the USSR times and so far the only map that presents the current state of forest resources in our country. According to the information available, an image of Russia as a country with immense forest resources is too optimistic.

No country in the world is able to organize effective use and protection of their forests without detailed information about the state of forest landscapes. The previous map ("Forest landscapes of the USSR") issued in 1990, was based on quite old materials and represented the situation of 25-30 years old.

A new map "Forest Landscapes of Russia" has combined four existing maps chosen so that to provide most up-to-date and detailed data.

First of all, the new map demonstrates that most valuable in the industry coniferous forests were preserved only in sparsely populated and difficult of access regions of the European North and Siberia. While in the most fertile forest lands spruce and pine are replaced by the second growth, birch and aspen forests, which can't be used effectively in the forest industry. At present the territory with the second deciduous growth amounts to 31% of the total forest area in Russia.

The main reason of mass forest degradation is the extensive forest use that prevailed in our country in the last century. This includes large-scaled clear cutting, a low quality of reforestation works and not sufficient care about saplings.

"It's evident that potentialities of extensive logging in Russia are almost exhausted. - says Alexey Yaroshenko, Greenpeace Russia forest campaign coordinator. - Almost all suitable for logging forests are developed. The further growth of logging volumes of coniferous forests without considerable improvement of the forestry quality is environmentally dangerous and it will lead to further degradation of forest resources."

"To enable the forest industry to develop, the government has to pay much more attention to the forestry", - says Mr. Yaroshenko.

"The presented map is another evidence of how significant "the human trace" in Russian forests is. It presents not only territories, where economic activities caused the replacement of coniferous species by deciduous ones, but also vast areas, where forests are totally destroyed. Such deforested territories take about 15% of "potentially forested" landscapes of Russia.

    2. Найдите в тексте и переведите словосочетания:

    Market – driven forestry practices; livestock grazing; demand for farm land and full wood; to resettle people; slash-and-burn activity; fallow periods; an unproductive state; to modify the landscape; the advent of agriculture; decreased transpiration; the forestation; the forestation of upland peat bogs; to provide wood for industry; proper replanting; local wood supplies; to remain viable; tax payers; legal and fiscal conditions; an agricultural belt; to lack the original biodiversity; mature oaks; seasonal flooding; use of charcoal; ship timbers; untapped forests; to shot of wood; supply of wild game; agricultural expansion; to endanger forest areas; multinational pulp companies; to pay off debt obligations; the consequences of deforestation; to cause atmospheric pollution; to be used as pastures; to cut down the trees; the need for disposable products; to manipulate the forest resources; illegal logging; illegally logged wood; devasting forces; fast food chains; to seek cheap prices; an overgrazed land; harmful effects; to produce cash crops; to drive production in other countries.

     3. Переведите текст (рекомендуется для зрительно-письменного и зрительно-устного перевода):

Causes of deforestation

Present causes. While short-sighted, market-driven forestry practices are

often one of the leading causes of forest degradation, the principal human-related causes of deforestation are agriculture and livestock grazing, urban sprawl, and mining and petroleum extraction. Causes include demand for farm land and fuel wood. Underlining causes include poverty, lack of reform. The causes of deforestation are complex and often differ in each forest and country. Government policies, such as ones in Brazil, make it a priority to resettle some of the country's numerous landless people. The largest cause as of 2006 is slash-and-burn activity in tropical forests. Slash-and-burn is a method sometimes used by shifting cultivators to create short term yields from marginal soils. When practiced repeatedly, or without intervening fallow periods, the nutrient poor soils may be exhausted or eroded to an unproductive state. Slash-and-burn techniques are used by native populations of over 200 million people worldwide.

Theories of deforestation. Three schools of thought exist with regards to the causes of deforestation - the Impoverishment school, which believes that the major cause of deforestation is "the growing number of poor", the Neoclassical school which believes that the major cause is "open-access property rights" and the Political-ecology school which believes that the major cause of deforestation is that the "capitalist investors crowd out peasants". The Impoverishment school sees smallholders as the principal agents of deforestation, the Neoclassical school sees various agents, and the Political ecology school sees capitalist entrepreneurs as the major agents of deforestation. Actual data support the first two theories as widespread numerical impacts.

Historical causes

Prehistory. Deforestation has been practiced by humans since the beginnings of civilization. Fire was first tool that allowed humans to modify the landscape. The first evidence of deforestation shows up in the Mesolithic. Fire was probably used to drive game into more accessible areas. With the advent of agriculture fire became the prime tool to clear land for crops. In Europe there is little solid evidence before 7000 BC. Mesolithic foragers used fire to create openings for red deer and wild boar. On Great Britain shade tolerant species like oak and ash are replaced in the pollen record by hazels, brambles, grasses and nettles. Removal of the forests led to decreased transpiration resulting in the formation of upland peat bogs. Widespread decrease in elm pollen across Europe between 8400-8300 BC and 7200-7000 BC, starting in southern Europe and gradually moving north to Great Britain, may represent land clearing by fire at the onset of Neolithic agriculture.

Pre-industrial history. The historic silting of ports along the southern coasts of Asia Minor (e.g. Clarus, and the examples of Ephesus, Priene and Miletus, where harbors had to be abandoned because of the silt deposited by the Meander) and in coastal Syria during the last centuries BC, and the famous silting up of the harbor for Bruges, which moved port commerce to Antwerp, all follow periods of increased settlement growth (and apparently of deforestation) in the river basins of their hinterlands. In early medieval Riez in upper Provence, alluvial silt from two small rivers raised the riverbeds and widened the floodplain, which slowly buried the Roman settlement in alluvium and gradually moved new construction to higher ground; concurrently the headwater valleys above Riez were being opened to pasturage.

A typical progress trap is that cities were often built in a forested area providing wood for some industry (e.g. construction, shipbuilding, pottery). When deforestation occurs without proper replanting, local wood supplies become difficult to obtain near enough to remain competitive, leading to the city's abandonment, as happened repeatedly in Ancient Asia Minor. The combination of mining and metallurgy often went along this self-destructive path.

Meanwhile most of the population remaining active in (or indirectly dependent on) the agricultural sector, the main pressure in most areas remained land clearing for crop and cattle farming; fortunately enough wild green was usually left standing (and partially used, e.g. to collect firewood, timber and fruits, or to graze pigs) for wildlife to remain viable, and the hunting privileges of the elite (nobility and higher clergy) often protected significant woodlands.

Major parts in the spread  (and  thus  more  durable growth) of  the

population were played by monastical 'pioneering' (especially by the Benedictine and Cistercian orders) and some feudal lords actively attracting farmers to settle (and become tax payers) by offering relatively good legal and fiscal conditions — even when they did so to launch or encourage cities, there always was an agricultural belt around and even quite some within the walls. When on the other hand demography took a real blow by such causes as the Black Death or devastating warfare '(e.g. Genghis Khan's Mongol hords in eastern and central Europe, Thirty Years' War in Germany) this could lead to settlements being abandoned, leaving land to be reclaimed by nature, even though the secondary forests usually lacked the original biodiversity.

From 1100 to 1500 AD significant deforestation took place in Western Europe as a result of the expanding human population. The large-scale building of wooden sailing ships by European (coastal) naval owners since the 15th century for exploration, colonization, slave - and other trade on the high seas and (often related) naval warfare (the failed invasion of England by the Spanish Armada in 1559 and the battle of Lepanto 1577 are early cases of huge waste of prime timber; each of Nelson's Royal navy war ships at Trafalgar had required 6000 mature oaks) and piracy meant that whole woody regions were over-harvested, as in Spain, were this contributed to the paradoxical weakening of the domestic economy since Columbus' discovery of America made the colonial activities (plundering, mining, cattle, plantations, trade...) predominant.

In Changes in the Land (1983), William Cronon collected 17th century New England Englishmen's reports of increased seasonal flooding during the time that the forests were initially cleared, though no connection was made at the time.

The massive use of charcoal on an industrial scale in Early Modern Europe was a new acceleration of the onslaught on western forests; even in Stuart England, the relatively primitive production of charcoal has already reached an impressive level. For ship timbers, Stuart England was so widely deforested that it depended on the Baltic trade and looked to the untapped forests of New England to supply the need. In France, Colbert planted oak forests to supply the French navy in the future; ironically, as the oak plantations matured in the mid-nineteenth century, the masts were no longer required.

Norman F. Cantor's summary of the effects of late medieval deforestation applies equally well to Early Modern Europe:

"Europeans had lived in the midst of vast forests throughout the earlier medieval centuries. After 1250 they became so skilled at deforestation that by 1500 AD they were running short of wood for heating and cooking. They were faced with a nutritional decline because of the elimination of the generous supply of wild game that had inhabited the now-disappearing forests, which throughout medieval times had provided the staple of their carnivorous high-protein diet. By 1500 Europe was on the edge of a fuel and nutritional disaster, [from] which it was saved in the sixteenth century only by the burning of soft coal and the cultivation of potatoes and maize." Specific parallels are seen in twentieth century deforestation occurring in many developing nations.

Deforestation today. Growing worldwide demand for wood to be used for fire wood or in construction, paper and furniture - as well as clearing land for commercial and industrial development (including road construction) have combined with growing local populations and their demands for agricultural expansion and wood fuel to endanger ever larger forest areas.

Agricultural development schemes in Mexico, 'Brazil and Indonesia moved large populations into the rainforest zone, further increasing deforestation rates. One fifth of the world's tropical rainforest was destroyed between 1960 and 1990. Estimates of deforestation of tropical forest for the 1990s range from ca. 55,630 km² to ca. 120,000 km² each year. At this rate, all tropical forests may be gone by the year 2090.

Brazil. In Brazil the rate of deforestation is apparently driven by commodity prices. Recent development of a new variety of soybean has lead to displacement of beef ranches and slash and burn farmers which in turn move further into the forest.

Indonesia. There are significantly large areas of forest in Indonesia that are being lost as native forest is cleared by large multinational pulp companies and being replaced by plantations. In Sumatra millions of acres of forest have been cleared often under the command of the central government in Jakarta who comply with multi national companies to remove the forest because of the need to pay off international debt obligations and to develop economically. In Kalimantan the consequences of deforestation have been profound and between 1997 and 1998 large areas of the forest were burned because of uncontrollable fire causing atmospheric pollution across South-East Asia.

United States. Upon arrival European-Americans began clearing large areas of forest for wood and agriculture. Beginning in about 1850 farm land began to be abandoned because of soil exhaustion and competition from the mid-west. Also, mechanization allowed land formerly used as pastures for horses to revert to forest. From 1850 to about 1920 the amount of forest land in the United States actually increased. Today the trend in forest cover increase has reversed as urban sprawl causes conversion of forest as the forest is transformed to suburbs.(Forest on the Edge Housing Development on American's Private Forest'(USFS)).

Logging and Deforestation. The small farmer plays a big role, but it is modern industry that too cuts down the trees. The logging industry is fueled by the need for disposable products. 11 million acres a year are cut for commercial and property industries. Peter Heller found that McDonalds needs 800 square miles of trees to make the amount of paper they need for a years supply of packaging, Entity Mission found that British Columbia manufactures 7, 500,000 pairs of chopsticks a day, and the demand for fuel wood is so high that predictions say that there will be a shortage by the year 2000. Logging does too have its repercussions. The logging industry not only tries to accomplish all this but it even indirectly helps the "shifted cultivators" and others to do more damage. The roads that the loggers build to access the forests and generate hydroelectric power create an easy way for many people to try to manipulate the forest resources. The amount of damage that this adds to the forests can not be measured nor can that of the illegal logging. Some importers may even be buying illegally logged wood and not even have known it.

Other Causes

Beyond the major causes of deforestation lie some supplementary ones that too stack the odds against forests around the globe. Acid rain and the building of dams have their share of harmful effects. The race to produce cash crops such as fruit, spices, sugar tobacco, soap, rubber, paper, and cloth has given cause to many to try to farm them by using soil and other products that can be retrieved by destroying the forests. Even those in industrialized countries may participate in the destruction of forests in the 3rd world. The need for products in industrialized countries drives production in other poorer, less developed countries. This production is at the cost of the trees and the services that they provide. The most significant source of forest around the world is disappearing in every country where they are located.

4. Переведите вопросы и ответьте на них:

1. What are the leading causes of deforestation?

2. Who are the principal agents of deforestation according to three theories of deforestation?

3. What are the historical causes of deforestation?

4. How does the logging impact on deforestation?

5. In what way does cattle grazing affect deforestation?

6. What are other causes of deforestation not mentioned before?

     5. Переведите на слух в быстром темпе (рекомендуется для письменно перевода на слух):

    Human – related causes of deforestation; рост городов; demand for farm land; почва, бедная питательными веществами; to drive game into more accessible areas; расчищать земли для посева зерновых культур; to remain competitive; разведение домашнего скота; to collect firewood, timber and fruits; в результате роста населения; building of wooden sailing ships; чрезмерная вырубка лесных участков; the massive use of charcoal; исчезающие леса; to be on the edge of a fuel and nutritional disaster; строительство дорог; demands for agricultural expansion; растущие темпы обезлесения; to be replaced by plantations; вырубать леса; to buy illegally logged wood; выпас домашнего скота; growth of fast food chains; искать более низкие цены; overgrazed land; кислотные дожди; to be retrieved by destroying the forest; вырубка леса в коммерческих целях.

 

    6.Переведите с подготовкой (рекомендуется для зрительно-устного и зрительно-письменного перевода):

Tropical Deforestation

The clearing of tropical forests across the Earth has been occurring on a large scale basis for many centuries. This process, known as deforestation, involves the cutting down, burning, and damaging of forests. The loss of tropical rain forest is more profound than merely destruction of beautiful areas. If the current rate of deforestation continues, the world's rain forests will vanish within 100 years-causing unknown effects on global climate and eliminating the majority of plant and animal species on the planet.

Why Deforestation Happens

Deforestation occurs in many ways. Most of the clearing is done for agricultural purposes-grazing cattle, planting crops. Poor farmers chop down a small area (typically a few acres) and burn the tree (trunks-a process called Slash and Burn agriculture. Intensive, or modern, agriculture occurs on a much larger scale, sometimes deforesting several square miles at a time. Large cattle pastures often replace rain forest to grow beef for the world market. Commercial logging is another common form of deforestation, cutting trees for sale as timber or pulp. Logging can occur selectively-where only the economically valuable species are cut-or by clearcutting, where all the trees are cut. Commercial logging uses heavy machinery, such as bulldozers, road graders, and log skidders, to remove cut trees and build roads, which is just as damaging to a forest overall as the chainsaws are to the individual trees. The causes of deforestation are very complex. A competitive global economy drives the need for money in economically challenged tropical countries. At the national level, governments sell logging concessions to raise money for projects, to pay international debt, or to develop industry. For example, Brazil had an international debt of $159 billion in 1995, on which it must make payments each year. The logging companies seek to harvest the forest and make profit from the sales of pulp and valuable hardwoods such as mahogany. Deforestation by a peasant farmer is often done to raise crops for self-subsistence, and is driven by the basic human need for food. Most tropical countries are very poor by U.S. standards, and farming is a basic way of life for a large part of the population. In Brazil, for example, the average annual earnings per person is U.S. $5400, compared to $26,980 per person in the United States (World Bank, 1998). In Bolivia, which holds part of the Amazon rain forest, the average earnings per person is $800. Farmers in these countries do not have the money to buy necessities and must raise crops for food and to sell. There are other reasons for deforestation, such as to construct towns or dams which flood large areas. Yet, these latter cases constitute only a very small part of the total deforestation.

The Rate of Deforestation

The actual rate of deforestation is difficult to determine. Scientists study the deforestation of tropical forests by analyzing satellite imagery of forested areas that have been cleared. Are isolated areas left by deforestation, where the plants and animals are cut off from the larger forest area. Regrowth-also called secondary forest-is abandoned farmland or timber cuts that are growing back to become forest. The majority of the picture is undisturbed, or "primary," forest, with a network of rivers draining it. The Food and Agriculture Organization (F AO) estimates that 53,000 square miles of tropical forests (rain forest and other) were destroyed each year during the 1980s. Of this, they estimate that 21,000 square miles were deforested annually in South America, most of this in the Amazon Basin. Based on these estimates, an area of tropical forest large enough to cover North Carolina is deforested each year! The rate of deforestation varies from region to region. Recent research results showed that in the Brazilian Amazon, the rate of deforestation was around 6200 square miles per year from 1978-1986, but fell to 4800 square miles per year from 1986-1993. By 1988, 6%of the Brazilian Amazon had been cut down (90,000 square miles, an area the size of New England). However, due to the isolation of fragments and the increase in forest/clearing boundaries, a total of 16.5% of the forest (230,000 square miles, an area nearly the size of Texas) was affected by deforestation. Scientists are currently analyzing rates of deforestation for the current decade, as well as studying how deforestation changes from year to year. The much smaller region of Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam) lost nearly as much forest per year as the Brazilian Amazon from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, with 4800 square miles per year converted to agriculture or cut for timber.

Deforestation and the Global Carbon Cycle

Deforestation increases the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other trace gases in the atmosphere. The plants and soil of tropical forests hold 460-575 billion metric tons of carbon worldwide with each acre of tropical forest storing about 180 metric tons of carbon. When a forest is cut and burned to establish cropland and pastures, the carbon that was stored in the tree trunks (wood is about 50% carbon) joins with oxygen and is released into the atmosphere as CO2. The loss of forests has a profound effect on the global carbon cycle. From 1850 to 1990, deforestation worldwide (including the United States) released 122 billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere, with the current rate being approximately 1.6 billion metric tons per year. In comparison, fossil fuel burning (coal, oil, and gas) releases about 6 billion metric tons per year, so it is clear that deforestation makes a significant contribution to the increasing CO2 in the atmosphere. Releasing CO2 into the atmosphere enhances the greenhouse effect, and could contribute to an increase in global temperatures (see Global Warming Fact Sheet, NF-222).

After Deforestation

What happens after a forest is cut is very important in the regeneration of that forest. Different cutting techniques and uses of the land have diverse effects on the ground and surviving organisms that make up a rain forest.

In a tropical rain forest, nearly all of the life-sustaining nutrients are found in the plants and trees, not in the ground as in a northern or temperate forest. When the plants and trees are cut down to sow the land, farmers usually burn the tree trunks to release the nutrients necessary for a fertile soil. When the rains come, they wash away most of the nutrients, leaving the soil much less fertile. In as little as 3 years, the ground is no longer capable of supporting crops. When the fertility of the ground decreases, farmers seek other areas to clear and plant, abandoning the nutrient-deficient soil. The area previously farmed is left to grow back to a rain forest. However, just as the crops did not grow well because of low nutrients, the forest will grow back just as slow because of poor nutrients.

After the land is abandoned, the forest may take up to 50 years to grow back. Another type of farming practiced in rain forests is called shade agriculture. In this type of farming, many of the original rain forest trees are left to provide shade for shade-loving crops like coffee or chocolate. When the farm is abandoned, the forest grows back very quickly, because much of it was left unharmed in the first place. After this type of farming, forests can grow back as quickly as 20 years. Other types of farming can be more devastating for forest regrowth. Intensive agricultural systems use large quantities of chemicals like pesticides and fertilizers. These chemicals kill a lot of the living organisms in the area, seeping into the soil and washing into the surrounding areas. On banana plantations, pesticides are used on the plants and in the soil to kill pest animals. However, these pesticides also kill other animals as well, and weaken ecosystem health. Banana plantations also use irrigation ditches and underground pipes for water transport, changing the water balance of the land. After the abandonment of a banana plantation, or other intensive agricultural system, it can take many centuries for a forest to regrow. A study in Indonesia found that when only 3% of the trees were cut, a logging operation damaged 49% of the trees in the forest. Yet, even with that much damage, the rain forest will grow back relatively quickly if left alone after selective logging, because there are still many trees to provide seeds and protect young trees from too much sun. Clearcutting is much more damaging to a tropical rain forest. When the land is commercially clear-cut and all of the trees removed, the bare ground is left behind with very little regrowth. Unlike when the farmer cleared the land, there are almost no nutrients left behind because all the tree trunks were removed. A clear-cut forest can require many years to regenerate-in fact, scientists do not know how long it takes for a clear-cut forest to grow back.

The Future

The deforestation of tropical rain forests is a threat to life worldwide. Deforestation may have profound effects on global climate and cause the extinction of thousands of species annually. Stopping deforestation in the tropics has become an international movement, seeking ways to stop the loss of rain forests. Because the loss of rain forests is driven by a complex group of factors, the solutions are equally complex. Simple solutions that do not address the nature of world economics and rain forest ecology have little chance of succeeding. The future requires solutions based on solving the economic crises of countries holding rain forests, as well as improvement of the living conditions of the poor people often responsible for deforestation.

Chapter III Deforestation

Lesson   1

Characterization of Deforestation

Terms and expressions

deforestation	– обезлесение; вырубка леса
drought	– засуха
loss of biodiversity	– исчезновение биоразнообразия
extinction of species	– вымирание видов
carbon dioxide	– углекислый газ
arable land	– пахотные земли
grainfields	– поля под зерновые культуры
degraded environment	– ухудшение состояния окружающей среды
reduced biodiversity	– снижение биоразнообразия
uncontrolled grazing	– неконтролируемый выпас скота
hydrologic cycle	– круговорот воды в природе
groundwater	– подземные воды
recharge of aquifers	– питание водоносного пласта почвы
flash flooding	– внезапное наводнение
evapotranspiration	– испарение осадков
greenhouse effect	–парниковый эффект
glaciation	– образование ледников
desertification	– опустынивание
forest cover	– лесной покров
full wood cutting	– вырубка леса с целью заготовки топлива
commercial logging	– вырубка леса в коммерческих целях
slash and burn techniques	– сжигание порубочных остатков (вместе с валежником)
forest clearing	– очистка лесосек и мест рубок
annual crops	– однолетние культуры
over-grazing	– выбивание пастбища скотом
purlieu	– место прогулок

Introductory exercises

1. Переведите следующие предложения на русский язык:

1. Deforestation is a process of clearing forests.

2. Rates of deforestation are particularly high in the tropics, where the poor quality of the soil has led to the practice of routine clear –cutting to make new soil available for agriculture use.

3. Deforestation can lead to erosion, drought, loss of biodiversity through extinction of plant and animal species, and increased atmospheric carbon dioxide.

4. Many nations have undertaken afforestation or reforestation projects to reverse the effects of deforestation, or to increase available timber.

5. Biodiversity is diversity of plant and animal species in an environment.

6. Sometimes habitat diversity (the variety of places where organisms live) and genetic diversity (diversity of genetic information within a species; that is, the number of distinct populations of a species) are also considered types of biodiversity.

7. The estimated 3-30 million species on earth are divided unequally among the world’s habitats, with 50-90% of the world species diversity occurring in tropical regions.

8. The more diverse a habitat, the better chance it has of surviving a change or threat to it, because it is more likely to be able to make a balancing adjustment.

9. Habitats with little biodiversity (e.g. Arctic tundra) are more vulnerable to change.

2. Найдите в тексте и переведите словосочетания:

    Conversion of forested areas to non-forest land; destruction of forest cover; to result in a degraded environment; to shape climate and geography; sufficient reforestation; biodiversity loss; sudden wildfires; urban development; the natural regeneration of young trees; edge effects; habitat fragmentation; to magnify the effects; an outcome of slash-and-burn techniques; to alter the hydrologic cycle; to foster medicinal conservation; to destroy genetic variations; shrinking forest cover; to intercept and transport precipitation; subsurface flows; localized floods; to lessen atmospheric moisture; long-term gains; important stores of organic carbon; to extract pollutants from the air; human related causes; urban sprawl; petroleum exploration; to mitigate the effects; to reduce forest quality; alternative land use; a forest cover removal; fuel wood cutting; shifting cultivation agricultural systems; forest clearing for annual crops; establishment of industrial forest plantations; non-forest land.

     3. Переведите устно (рекомендуется для зрительно-устного перевода с предварительной подготовкой):

Deforestation

Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land use such as arable land, urban use, logged area or wasteland. Historically, this meant conversion to grassland or to its artificial counterpart, grain fields; however, the Industrial Revolution added urbanization. Generally this removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. In developing countries, massive deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography.

Deforestation results from removal of trees without sufficient reforestation; however, even with reforestation, significant biodiversity loss may occur. There are many causes, ranging from slow forest degradation to sudden and catastrophic wildfires. Deforestation can be the result of the deliberate removal of forest cover for agriculture or urban development, or it can be an unintentional consequence of uncontrolled grazing (which can prevent the natural regeneration of young trees). The combined effect of grazing and fires can be a major cause of deforestation in dry areas. In addition to the direct effects brought about by forest removal, indirect effects caused by edge effects and habitat fragmentation can greatly magnify the effects of deforestation.

While tropical rainforest deforestation has attracted most attention, tropical dry forests are being lost at a substantially higher rate, primarily as an outcome of slash-and-burn techniques used by shifting cultivators.

Impact on the Environment

Deforestation alters the hydrologic cycle, altering the amount of water in the soil and groundwater and the moisture in the atmosphere. Forests support considerable biodiversity, providing valuable habitat for wildlife; moreover, forests foster medicinal conservation and the recharge of aquifers. With forest bioptopes being a major, irreplacable source of new drugs (like taxol), deforestation can destroy genetic variations (such as crop resistance) irretrievably.

Shrinking forest cover lessens the landscape's capacity to intercept, retain and transport precipitation. Instead of trapping precipitation, which then percolates to groundwater systems, deforested areas become sources of surface water runoff, which moves much faster than subsurface flows. That quicker transport of surface water can translate into flash flooding and more localized floods than would occur with the forest cover. Deforestation also contributes to decreased evapotranspiration, which lessens atmospheric moisture which in some cases affects precipitation levels downwind from the deforested area, as water is not recycled to downwind forests, but is lost in runoff and returns directly to the oceans; in deforested north and northwest China, the average annual precipitation decreased by one third between the 1950s and the 1980s.

Long - term gains can be obtained by managing forest lands sustainably to

maintain both forest cover and provide a biodegrable renewable resource. Forests are also important stores of organic carbon, and forests can extract carbon dioxide and pollutants from the air, thus contributing to biosphere stability and probably relevant to the greenhouse effect. Forests are also valued for their aesthetic beauty and as a cultural resource and tourist attraction.

Characterization

Deforestation is the loss or continual degradation of forest habitat primarily due to human related causes. Agriculture, urban sprawl, unsustainable forestry practices, mining, and petroleum exploration all contribute to human caused deforestation. Natural deforestation can be linked to tsunamis, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, glaciation and desertification, although the desertification process is driven primarily by human causes. The effects of human related deforestation can be mitigated through environmentally sustainable practices that reduce permanent destruction of forests or even act to preserve and rehabilitate disrupted.

Deforestation defined broadly can include not only conversion to non-forest, but also degradation that reduces forest quality - the density and structure of the trees, the ecological services supplied, the biomass of plants and animals, the species diversity and the genetic diversity. Narrow definition of deforestation is: the removal of forest cover to an extent that allows for alternative land use. The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) uses a broad definition of deforestation, while the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) uses a narrow definition.

Definitions can also be grouped as those which refer to changes in land cover and those which refer to changes in land use. Land cover measurements often use a percent of cover to determine deforestation. This type of definition has