There are a number of issues associated with the decline of biodiversity in the tropical rainforest including: plant and animal species may become extinct before they are even discovered. Related Topics Use the images below to explore related GeoTopics. How have animals adapted to the rainforest environment? Topic Home. Changing rates of deforestation.
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Top Posts and Pages Home. What are the impacts of migration? What factors affect population density and distribution? How does flooding affect humans and the environment? WWF is committed to conserving the world's rainforests, not only because of the incredible wealth of plants and animals, but for the benefit of the indigenous peoples who call these forests their home.
WWF has been working to save rainforests for more than 35 years. Assisting tropical countries to save their rainforests - through creating protected areas, exploring ways to use forests wisely and promoting purchasing of responsible forest products - is a priority for WWF. Toggle navigation. Language English. Tropical rainforests. Tropical forests are some of the richest, most exciting areas on earth. They are home to gigantic trees, colourful birds and a huge variety of fascinating mammals.
What is a tropical forest? Tropical forests are closed canopy forests growing within 28 degrees north or south of the equator. They are very wet places, receiving more than cm rainfall per year, either seasonally or throughout the year. Rainforest trees are quite different from trees of temperate forests. Trees are also cut down for wood pulp, which until recently came only from softwoods like Canadian conifers. The pulp is used to make paper. Road building through rainforests is another problem, making illegal logging and the poaching of animals much easier.
In Africa apes such as gorillas and other animals are hunted for bushmeat to be sold by roadsides and in the markets. Many apes are vulnerable to diseases. To avoid buying this wood in the UK, the most recognised and trustworthy standard is the Forestry Stewardship Council logo on wood and paper products which ensures the source was from sustainably managed forests. Most of the beef in the UK is not sourced from Brazil. However, livestock can still be indirectly responsible for rainforest destruction since intensively farmed animals in the UK are fed a high protein plant called soya.
China, with its growing demands for beef has in recent years become the largest consumer of soya from Brazil. Most of the world's soya comes from South America where areas of rainforest, as well as other habitats like the savannahs have been planted with this crop.
At first the land may be very productive. Eventually the good topsoil will be washed away by the rains within three or four years and the area may become a desert. Otherwise farmers may resort to using more and more fertilizers and pesticides which bring with them their own problems such as the pollution of rivers. Soy plants may also be genetically modified - still a controversial issue. Have you heard of palm oil? How about vegetable oil or olive oil?
Oils from plants, vegetables, seeds and nuts have been used for centuries all over the world for many different foods and products.
It is used in bread, cereals, chocolates, pizzas, cleaning products, chewing gum and even shampoo. Sometimes land is cleared so that it can be replanted with valuable cash crops such as the oil palm plant, which produces palm oil. It can also be used as a biofuel instead of petrol or diesel.
Valuable trees are harvested and the rest are burnt to clear the land for the farming of palm oil. In burning the rainforests Indonesia is also burning the peatlands below which store masses of carbon. Their peatlands cover just 0.
This makes Indonesia the country with the 3rd largest carbon footprint in the world, when deforestation is taken into account! Bio-fuel targets in Europe mean that demand for palm oil is set to increase, despite the fact that more pollution is caused producing bio-fuels than is saved by not using petrol and diesel. Cats, dogs, pigs, cows and goldfish. All the way from Asia, pets all over the country are eating food containing palm kernel meal.
Imported products are products grown or made in other countries and then shipped to the UK, the opposite of this is exports - products made in the UK and sent to other countries. One victim of palm oil plantations is the orangutan. Sadly, experts believe deforestation for palm oil is the single greatest threat to orangutans in the wild. According to the IUCN, over the last ten years their numbers have halved and up to are killed every year, despite their status as protected species.
See our orangutan factsheet below for more information. In Britain we destroyed our ancient forests thousands of years ago and used the land for farming. But we now know more about the important role that forests, especially rainforests play.
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