Defintion:Habitat destruction is when a certain type of habitat is removed from an area, or gets broken up (fragmentation). Habitat destruction reduces the level of diversity in an ecosystem, and the organisms that lived in that type of habitat are often uprooted or killed. The building of cities is a great example of fragmentation because the roads break up an organism’s habitat and then the organism has less room to live. Wildlife frequently try cross roads but often get killed by cars. Habitat destruction is the likely cause of extinction of species.
Deforestation is a type of habitat destruction. It occurs when all the trees of an area are removed.

Descripton: Habitat destruction is the changing of one habitat type to another and when it changes it no longer can support the species that were originally present. Meaning that biodiversity can be reduced. Habitat destructuon is considered to be one of the most importan cause of specie extinction. Deforestation is a type of habitat destruction. Deforestation is the conversion of a forested area to a non-forested area. They areas that are removed can be used for waste lands, builing sites and for logging purposes. Some things that cause deforestation are things like acid rain, fires and just plain old human activity.

Applications and Uses: Deforestation is used clear the land of trees and vegetation to make room for cities, agriculture, or waste disposal. The wood from the trees can be used for construction and furniture, fuel, war, and the all-important piece of paper

History: Deforestation has been practiced by humans for tens of thousands of years before civilization. Fire was the first tool that changed areas. The Mesolithic period was the first period to actually have deforestation recorded. Early civilizations used deforestation so that they would have more open ecosystems making it easier to hunt animals. Sometimes they cleared parts of forest manually with axe heads or a chiesel.

Issues:The carbon in our air is being increased. Forested areas act as a storage area for carbon dioxide. When the forests are cut down carbon dioxide is released into the air meaning we are getting a higher concentration of carbon dioxide in our environment. The water cycle gives trees water through their roots and that water is then released into the atmosphere. Because the trees are being cut down there isnt as much water travelling through the air. Meaning that out climates are becoming drier. Soil erroision occurs because there arent any trees to hold the soil in place. Species are becoming extinct or endangered because their food sources and habitats are being cut down.

Examples:

Djouce Mountain was cleared in the 17th century so that wood could be used for shipbuilding.

NASA cleared some land for an observation site in Brazil.

Deforestation in Brazil in 1992 in comparison to deforestation in Brazil in 2006.

Pictures and Videos:

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-8588999291074423333&ei=a-tkSb3AKZaEqQOC_NXhDw&q=deforestation&hl=en

References:

Wikipedia English. “Habitat destruction.” Babylon Online Dictonary.
Last modified 30 Dec. 2008. Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. 6 January 2009


Wikipedia English. “Deforestation.” Babylon Online Dictonary.
Last modified 6 Jan. 2009. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 6 January 2009


History: Humans have practiced deforestation for centuries. Fire was the first tool people used to rid an area of trees.

Unknown, “The Disappearing Rainforest: Deforestatioin.” The Disappearing Rainforest.
Unknown. Unknown. 6 January 2009