Threats to the Rainforest

The total area covered by rainforests was once found to be 14 percent of the Earth's land surface. If you were to talk about biomes of the world, you will find rainforest as one of the highly biodiverse areas in the world. Environment conservation data reveals that more than 50 percent of the original rainforest area is destructed till date. At present, rainforests occupy only 6 percent of the land area. The most practical solution to conserve these rich habitats is identifying the probable threats to the rainforest and avoid them as far as possible.

Natural Threats to the Rainforest
The tropical rainforest biome supports maximum number of plants and animals, approximately 50 percent of the total number of species. The habitat condition is such that it suits the survival requirements for these organisms. Nevertheless, rainforests have been destroyed by natural events since their existence. Some of the natural threats to rainforests are highlighted below:

• Fire: One of the most destructive environmental threats to the rainforest is wildfire. Small fires destroy the ground covers and small plants. In the United States alone, rapidly spreading wildfire burns down more than 1 million acres of forest every year.
• Drought: The rainforest vegetation requires water and other plant growth factors for their survival. Prolonged dry spells often weaken the plants, making them susceptible to diseases, pest and fire breakouts.
• Storms: Devastating cyclones, typhoons and storms result in extensive damage to the rainforest, which are beyond recovery. For moderately strong storms, forest may recover within a span of few months to years time.
• Volcanic Activity: The hot lava and volcanic effects kill both plants and wildlife surviving in the rainforest. An example is the rainforest of Costa Rica, wherein large areas were damaged due to lava flows in 1999.

Human Threats to the Rainforest
Threats to the rainforest caused by human activities differ from natural menaces. They cause complete damage to woodlands, in which case recovery is nearly impossible. In case of natural events, some parts of the forest ecosystem continue to function, which leads to slow recovery of lost habitats. Listed below are human threats to the rainforest:

• Cutting Trees for Timber: Every minute, thousands of forest trees are cut down for use in building construction, furniture, flooring and roofing works. The average damage resultant of logging interests accounts to 10 - 15 percent.
• Ranching Interest: Farming of cattle and other domestic animals is indirectly responsible for loss of rainforest all over the world. As we already know, ranch lands are developed with the help of slash-and-burn method by farmers.
• Agricultural Aspect: Rise in population is associated with increased need for foods, which in turn, is related to deforestation for agricultural practices. Once a forest is cleared completely, it takes several years to develop normal vegetation.
• Pollution Effects: Air pollution and water pollution are taking tolls on every habitat, including the rainforest. You might have heard of acid rain, which when falls on leaves and plant parts, causes burning signs.
• Industrial Projects: The need for bamboos and trees in paper industry is another threat to the rainforest. Millions of plants are cut and turned into pulp for manufacturing paper, so as to meet the growing demands of the public.
• Development Projects: For erecting hydroelectric power plants, constructing roads and developmental projects, forest trees are cut down. Also, the expansion of residential areas causes substantial loss of the rainforest.
• Mining Purposes: Mining for coal and fossil fuels involves digging of the soil to a certain depth and extracting the fuels (if present). Consequently, plants are cut down and uprooted, thus killing them. Also, digging and piling up of soil disturbs the elevation of the forest area.

As you see, the most profound threats to the rainforest are caused by humans. If current threats to rainforest continue at the same pace, these rich biodiversity areas will be diminished within the next 100 years. No doubt, some of the reasons for declining rainforest vegetation are genuine and cannot be avoided. But, there are so many things that every individual can contribute to help conserve the rainforests, such as curling trees for timber (instead of cutting them down), planting trees and reducing exploitation of forests. Introducing public awareness programs to educate people about the importance of this natural resource will surely help in conserving rainforests.