Logging Essay

Decent Essays
Forestry is the removal of trees but also the destruction of habitat provided by these trees (Bernhardt et al.)
In Canada 38.2% of land is forest (World bank, 2015) and 9% is covered in fresh water (Alberta Waterportal, 2013). Due to the abundance of forests, logging is one of the main contributors to Canada’s economy (NRC, 2016). The removal of trees creates a variety of problems, many of which affect water ways. Water ways provide aquatic ecosystems, water for communities nearby, and a source of food for both humans and animals. Logging is a large part of Canada’s economy with large impacts on the areas surrounding the logging sites, many of these areas contain waterways which provide resources and habitats to many (Chambers et al., 2008).
…show more content…
Without trees banks there’s an increased disruption of nutrients in the soil (Chambers et al., 2008). The disruption of water way banks causes increased runoff (total precipitation that runs into streams), concentrations of dissolved nitrogen (Chambers et al., 2008) through nutrient-rich topsoil being swept away by the wind (Bernhardt). Increased levels of nitrogen and phosphorus cause eutrophication which causes increased plant growth and a decrease in the oxygen present in water (The Conference Board of Canada, 2016). Vegetation located near water ways helps trap sediment and absorbs nitrates from groundwater (McLellan, 2014). Eutrophication is a large problem in the prairie provinces, southern Ontario and Quebec with less impact in British Columbia (The Conference Board of Canada, 2016). Increased runoff leads to an increased risk of flooding in areas near water ways (Casselman & Linder, 2013). Floods impact the economy, human life, cause property damage, destroy crops and spread waterborne diseases (Bracey, 2016). Along with runoff, eutrophication and floods, gully and in-field-water erosion causes sediment build up and changes in water depth (McLellan, …show more content…
This cover provides shade (McLellan, 2014), habitats (Bernhardt) and helps reduce direct precipitation (Chambers et al., 2008. The removal of forest canopy creates an increase in water temperature due to the direct sunlight on water ways. Water temperature affects a variety of variables such as pH, salinity, water density, dissolved gasses and toxicity (Fundamentals of Environmental Measurements, 2014). The metabolic rate of organisms is affected by water temperature due to temperatures impact on enzymes (Fundamentals of Environmental Measurements, 2014). An increase in metabolic function can affect a species respirations rates and digestive responses which can be detrimental over a long period of time (Fundamentals of Environmental Measurements, 2014).

Figure 1. Graph of Metabolic Rate of Aquatic Organisms 0ºC – 50ºC
(Fundamentals of Environmental Measurements, 2014)

If water temperatures increase over 35ºC there can be a decrease in metabolic function causing enzymes to break down (Fundamentals of Environmental Measurements, 2014). Forests provide a canopy which reduce runoff by intercepting precipitation (Chambers et al., 2008). The shade and reduction of runoff provided by trees limits algae growth in water ways (McLellan, 2014). Large growths of algae can create a shift in aquatic organisms and introduce invasive species which may not be affected by pollutants (Environment and Climate Change Canada,

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Tree root systems control the water flow of excess rainwater by absorbing…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Trees play many major roles in our climate, but vary depending on the needs of a region. Roots that store water drive deep down into the Earth, holding soil together and absorbing moisture from underground which is then released into the atmosphere in a process called transpiration (Thomas 19-23). This moisture is essential to the water cycle, without which water from deep within the Earth would be unable to escape back into the atmosphere (see appendix). Without these trees’ roots, regions of all types would be affected in different ways. Topsoil would simply blow away without trees, and would cause lands to become infertile, as well as creating sediment buildup in rivers.…

    • 1268 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Earth only contains about four percent of its original redwoods, so the logging of these trees is very detrimental to the forests and humans because animal’s homes…

    • 1110 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Animal Endangerment in Brazil Brazil is home to some of the world’s most diverse wildlife, with over 2,900 animal species occupying in the Amazon rain forest. (Animals) These animals serve an important role in the world’s ecosystem, but are quickly becoming endangered. Although the extinction of animals is a natural occurrence, human activities has quicken their rate of becoming extinct. From early European colonists and settlers, to deforestation, and to animal smuggling, the number of species in the Brazilian rain forests are rapidly decreasing, but with the endangerment of animals, comes the formation of organizations that are making an effort to help conserve the rainforests where these animals live and limit the factors which are putting…

    • 1114 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Kyoto Protocol Pros and Cons The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It was borne on the premise that global warming exists due to human activities. The legal binding agreement help ensure that state parties help mitigate global warming. List of Pros of Kyoto Protocol 1.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In addition to Global Warming’s impact on water, it also impacts the environment, harming ice and bodies of water, plants, and animals. Firstly, Global Warming leads to a shrinkage of glaciers and causes ice on rivers and lakes to break earlier. This decrease in ice also accelerates the rising of sea levels (NASA, The Consequences of Climate Change). Additionally, Global Warming impacts plants, as they are no longer able to survive in certain climates and locations, and trees are flowering earlier. Finally, as a result of Global Warming, animals can no longer live in certain places because places may no longer fulfill their needs (NASA, The Consequences of Climate Change).…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Nequasset Case Study

    • 1670 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Problem What is the aquatic health of the Nequasset lake tributaries as analyzed through chemical and biological parameters as well as physical habitat assessment? What factors, both natural and human-influenced, contribute (positively or negatively) to the health of the Nequasset lake tributaries? Background Information Weather or not we realize it, as people that (presumably) live in the Bath area, the streams that flow into Nequasset are very important to our survival. They are numerous, and flow all over Southern Maine to feed into Nequasset, the lake that supplies our water.…

    • 1670 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the article “Why Trees Matter,” author Jim Robbins paints a scientific picture of a simple subject: Trees. People normally don’t give trees much thought, but Jim Robbins does. Robbins is so dedicated to tree conservation that he felt the need to write a whole article about the science behind trees. Throughout the article he provides information on the importance of trees in all of our ecosystems. He reminds us that without trees the whole life cycle would depreciate.…

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I visited a maple syrup farm while I was home on the weekend and I decided to walk down a nearby trail as my tour guide had mentioned that they have ID tags on some of the tree species (I wanted to practice some tree ID). I arrived at the beginning of the Trillium Wood Trail at 13:43 and initially noticed the two signs which told visitors about the wildlife that is in the area, and to leave plant life be. This deciduous forest contained a wide variety of tree species such as sugar maple, American beech, red oak, black cherry, bitternut hickory, red maple, basswood and white ash. Majority of the trees had ID tags on them which was great practice for tree ID.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. A). Saylorville and Prospect Park Upland are the most similar communities. This was determined by a value of 48% (Table 4). This suggest that Saylorville and Prospect Park Upland has similar ecosystems.…

    • 918 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Deforestation In Canada

    • 248 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Deforestation is an important issue, considering cutting down forests, reduces biodiversity, affects soil and water quality, impacts wildlife habitat and influences climate change. ("Deforestation in Canada: Key Myths and Facts." Natural Resources Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June 2016.)…

    • 248 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Environmental Changes Affecting Organisms The world's climates is being affected by our way of life. Many of these changes aren't just hurting the plants and animals indigenous to these climates, it is also hurting us. Freshwater lakes and ponds, the Arctic ice caps, and humans are being affected by what is going on in the world. Many of the organisms in these freshwater lakes and ponds respond to the changes in their climate in two ways.…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    With impending temperature changes, scientist can already see how increasing degrees affect plant and animal species. These temperature changes create an inhospitable environment for many of the animals who cannot adapt, especially-large bodied mammals. In a 2003 study of 1,500 plant and animal species studied, 1,200 showed changes consistent with effects scientists would consider temperature-related. (Than n.p.).…

    • 1472 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Trees naturally sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and thus decrease global warming and its repercussions. Carbon dioxide is an essential component of the Calvin Cycle for the production of glucose, which is the primary energy source for plants as well as many herbivorous and carnivorous consumers. With the rapid increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from anthropogenic activity since the Industrial Revolution, scientist suspect that carbon dioxide fertilization will amplify photosynthesis and, therefore, sequester more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the terrestrial carbon sink in the form of trees (Bonan 2008).2 Forests are a major terrestrial carbon sink and contain approximately 45% of terrestrial…

    • 1415 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This reduction in water temperature can be seen particularly in location 1 where both an observation and analysis was made showing that the temperature and light was significantly lower in that location with a reading of approximately 27.1oC and 167.78 LUX, in comparison to the other location with a higher result of 27.2oC and 246.67 LUX. From these results, an assumption can then be made stating that the sun’s rays was particularly unable to penetrate the surface of the water in location 1, due to cloud and tree coverage which would then predominantly effect the data regarding the water temperature discussed above. This effect would then result in the water having a minimal fluctuation in terms of increasing the water temperature, which would then evidently rectify the results in regards to a decreased amount of dissolved oxygen in location 1, rather than the other area. However, although these results can patently suggest and provide evidence regarding the 1st location having a larger possession of dissolved oxygen than the second, it is particular imperative to recognise that the levels of turbidity do not scientifically agree…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays