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Land clearing
From Envirowiki
land clearing is done for a number of reasons. the most common are agriculture, and urban expansion. often this is done by simply bulldozing trees, other vegetation, small animals, and rocks. other methods include slash and burn clearing.
sometimes he land is completely leveled, ie, for flood irrigation for cotton farming, other times the natural topography is left largely unchanged.
land clearing has a number of major environmental impacts, for both the local, and global environment.
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[edit] Climate change
the destruction of forests, and the disturbing of soil, both of which act as a carbon sink, release huge amounts of carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide (from burning), and methane, from rotting vegetation.
some estimates are that land clearing creates up to 35%[reference needed] of anthropogenic carbon emissions.
[edit] biodiversity and habitat loss
land clearing, especially in native forests greatly disturbs local, and sometimes even regional ecosystems. this can lead to biodiversity loss on a local scale, as well as species extinction.
[edit] soil erosions
trees and vegitation act as soil stabilisers. once they are removed, the soil often washes away.
[edit] salinity
trees, often act as water table stabilisers, keeping it down during wet periods, and maintaining moisture at groundlevel during drie periods. if the trees are removed, the water table can rise to the surface, bringing mineral salts.
