Lecture5: Introduction and natural resources

(Deforestation: Causes and impacts due to

mining, dam building on environment, forests,
biodiversity and tribal populations)

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 Learning outcomes
After completing this lecture, you will be able to
understand the following:
•Student will get knowledge about importance
and benefits of forest.

•Student will understand the Deforestation and

their impact on biotic components.

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Forest Resources:

A Renewable Resource

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Forest Resources
A forest, a biotic community with predominance of trees is
an important Renewable natural resource.

It is highly complex, changing environment made up of a

living and non living things. Living things include trees,
shrubs, wildlife etc. and non-living things include water,
nutrients, rocks, sunlight and air.

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 Forest Resources
• The word forest is derived from a Latin word “ Foris” means
Outside

• Forests are the dominant terrestrial ecosystem of Earth, and

are distributed across the globe.

• Forests account for 75% of the gross primary productivity of

the Earth's biosphere, and contain 80% of the Earth's plant
biomass

• Forest are one of the most important natural resources of

the earth.

• Tree forests cover approximately 9.4 percent of the Earth's

surface (or 30 percent of total land area i.e., Approximately
1/3rd of the earth’s total land area ).
Temperate rainforest in Tasmania‘s Mixed deciduous forest in Stara
Hellyer Gorge Planina,Serbia

A conifer forest in the Swiss Alps Amazon Rainforest in Brazil

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 Indian Scenario
• In India forest cover Overall, 21.34% of the country's geographical
area is now under green cover (as per 2009* data) The total forest
cover in India is 6,90,899 km2.

• Forest cover in India is defined as all lands, more than one hectare
in area with a tree canopy density of more than 10%.

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Benefits of Forests

Protective Function
Forest Provide protection against Soil erosion, Droughts, floods, noise,
radiations

Productive Function
Forest Provide various products like, gum resins, medicines, Katha,
honey, pulp, bamboo, timber, and fruits

Regulative Function
The Forest regulates the level of Oxygen and carbon dioxide in
atmosphere. The forests also help in regulating temperature conditions

Accessory Function
Forest provides aesthetics, habitat to various flora and fauna besides
that it also has an recreational value

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 Uses of Forests
• The uses of forest may broadly classified into following
categories

• Commercial uses
• Ecological uses
– Oxygen production
– Reduce global warming
– Wildlife habitat
– Hydrological regulation
– Soil conservation
– Pollution moderators
– Driving energy flow and nutrient cycling

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 Commercial Importance of Forest
• Timber: Wood used for commercial purposes like
for making furniture and other items like boats,
bridges and other day to day uses.

• Fuel Wood: The wood is used as fuel for cooking

and other purposes by poor people.

• Raw material for wood based industries: forest

provide raw material for various wood based
industries like paper and pulp, sports goods,
furniture, match boxes etc.

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• Food: Fruits, roots, leaves of plants and trees along with the
meat of forest animals provide the food to the tribal people.

• Miscellaneous Products: Miscellaneous products like, resin,

gums, oils, medicines, honey are provided by forests

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 Products from forest/trees
• Forest Provide various products like, gum resins, medicines,
honey, pulp, bamboo, timber, Vegetables and fruits.

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Ecological Uses: Functions of trees/forest: The functions of
forest may broadly classified into following categories

Droughts

Soil Conservation
• Forest Provide protection
against
Floods
• Soil erosion
• Droughts
• Floods
Soil erosion

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Regulative Functions (Oxygen production)

• The Forest regulates the

level of Oxygen and
carbon dioxide in
atmosphere.
• The forests also help in
regulating temperature
conditions

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Accessory Function
• Forest provides aesthetics, habitat to various flora
and fauna besides that it also has an recreational
value.

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Regulation of global climate and temperature

Forest play a crucial role in regulation of global climate and

temperature as forest cover absorb the solar radiations that would
otherwise be reflected back into the atmosphere by bare surface of
the earth.

Transpiration of plants increases the atmosphere humidity which

affects the rainfall, cools the atmosphere and thus regulate the
hydrological cycle

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 Reduction of Global Warming

The main green house gas CO2 is used by forests for

photosynthesis process the forest act as a sink for co 2 there by
reducing the green house effect due to CO2.

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 Absorption of air pollutants
(Pollutant moderators)
• Forest absorbs many toxic gasses and air pollutants and can
help in keeping air pure.

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Driving energy flow and nutrient cycling

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 Over-exploitation of Forests

Deforestation
• The permanent
destruction of forest is
called deforestation

• Forest are exploited since

early times for humans to
meet human demand

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 Causes of Deforestation
• Fuel requirement
• Raw material for industrial use
• Development projects
• Expansion of cities
• Construction of dams, canal &
highways
• Growing food needs
• Overgrazing
• Shifting Cultivation
• Forest fire

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Other causes
•Mining:
•River valley projects
•Natural forces

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 Effects of Deforestation

• Threatens the existence of wildlife

• Biodiversity and genetic diversity loss
• Effect of hydrological cycle
• Soil erosion
• Land slides on higher altitudes
• Air pollution and global warming

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Other consequences

•Loss of habitat
•Inc. intensity and frequency of flood
•Land degradation
•Loss of forest products
•Change in climatic condition
•Siltation of rivers and lakes
•Loss of revenue
•Change in water cycle
•Reduced rainfall
•Expansion of deserts

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 Afforestation
“conversion of bare or cultivated land into forest”

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 Afforestation
The conservation measure against the deforestation
is afforestation. The development of forest by
planting trees on waste land is called afforestation
• The main objective of afforestation:
• To control the deforestation
• To prevent soil erosion
• To regulate rainfall and maintain temperature
• To control atmospheric condition by keeping it clean
• To promote planned uses of wasteland
• To Protect forest ecosystem and to get benefits of
forest products.
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 Dams and their effects on Forest
and Tribal People
• Dams: Temples of modern India
• When a dam is constructed across any river a huge artificial
lake is developed in the catchment area of that dam. It is also
known as back waters. The backwaters covering a large
surface area. Create a lot of ill-effects on the living
environment. They are as follows:

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•It creates the loss of forest which are submerged under the
back waters of the dam.
•It creates danger to the habitat of the wild life. The wild
life are forced to migrate.
•It also affects the land under cultivation, in the catchment
area as the crops get submerged under water.
•The roads, already in existence are put under water after
the construction of dam. So the road network is damaged.

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 Important Web Links
http://www.newagepublishers.com/
samplechapter/000964.pdf
http://www.newagepublishers.com/
samplechapter/001426.pdf
http://ecoursesonline.iasri.res.in/mod/page/view.php?id=89582

https://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHpnyRHRVg4

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Acknowledgment
Some images, animation, and material have been taken
from the following sources:

Textbooks: PERSPECTIVE IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES by

ANUBHA KAUSHIK, C P KAUSHIK, NEW AGE
INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHERS

References Book: TEXTBOOK OF ENVIRONMENTAL

STUDIES by D. DAVE AND S. S. KATEWA, CENGAGE
LEARNING
3 All slides can be used for reading purpose only

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