Rainforest in reality have shallow and relatively infertile soil. The reasons behind this soil having these qualities is because heavy rainfall causes important nutrients needed for a fertile environment to be washes away and/or dissolved into the lower layer of the soil (leaching) thus leaving the forest floor infertile. Once leaching has occurred and removed these nutrients, trees become unable to access fertile soil and remain healthy. Many rainforest trees have developed adaptations which allow them to reach down into the lower levels of soil and receive these nutrients. Such adaptation is known as a “Buttress Roots”.
Without human activity and if the climate of the British Isles were to stay the same the whole place would reach climatic climax of oak/ash/beech deciduous woodland. It depends on the soil type as to which climatic climax species is present. However, many factors such as human intervention and climate can cause changes to plant succession in an ecosystem. Succession is the evolution of a plant community from its pioneer species to its climax community. All the living and non-living things living within a certain area is known as an ecosystem.
The environment is interconnected and the loss of trees devastated more than just the forest. As precipitation falls, some of the water is absorbed through the tree roots where it mixes with organic matter and helps to sustain plant life. The tree roots also carry water into the leaves where sugar and protein are made allowing the roots to grow. Trees release water back into the water table and allow the water cycle to continue. The roots hold soil in place and the tree’s leaves becomes organic material in the soil- food for plants.
The result to this is the top soil is left exposed it then becomes saturated with water and slides off the slope in a muddy mass into waterways leaving the subsoil to continuously erode. The solution to this problem is simple stop deforestation and save the soil in the forest habitat. There are several processes of soil erosion which include; sheet erosion, gulley erosion, and wind erosion. Sheet erosion occurs when there is sufficient rainfall; exposed soil will be moved downhill as a mass
Companies and poachers are largely destroying Rainforests. Rainforests are not only beneficial to humans but also to the numerous animal and plants species. They supply much of the oxygen humans need to survive. In addition, some of the trees and plant species within the forest provide essential components in producing medicine. In the 1970s, environmental ethics emerged.
It robs the soil of essential nutrients and releases aluminum in the soil, which makes it hard for trees to take up water. Trees' leaves and needles are also harmed by acids and makes trees and plants less able to withstand cold temperatures, insects, and disease. How does it affect animals? Acid rain makes waters acidic and causes them to absorb the aluminum that makes its way from soil into lakes and streams. This combination makes waters toxic to crayfish, clams, fish, and other aquatic animals.
Consequences The most conspicuous effect of cultural eutrophication is the creation of dense blooms of noxious, foul-smelling phytoplankton that reduce water clarity and harm water quality (Figure 2). Algal blooms limit light penetration, reducing growth and causing die-offs of plants in littoral zones while also lowering the success of predators that need light to pursue and catch prey (Lehtiniemi et al. 2005). Furthermore, high rates of photosynthesis associated with eutrophication can deplete dissolved inorganic carbon and raise pH to extreme levels during the day. Elevated pH can in turn ‘blind' organisms that rely on perception of dissolved chemical cues for their survival by impairing their chemosensory abilities (Figure 3) (Turner & Chislock 2010).
Causes of water pollution include: * Increased sediment from soil erosion * Improper waste disposal and littering * Leaching of soil pollution into water supplies The effects of water pollution include decreasing the quantity of drinkable water available, lowering water supplies for crop irrigation and impacting fish and wildlife that require water of certain purity for survival. 3. Soil Pollution Soil, land pollution is contamination of the soil that prevents natural growth and balance in the land
How can we prioritise species for conservation? Species becoming extinct: Species are facing various problems key to their survival such as destruction of animal habitats, damage to the natural environment of living things, for example trees are cut down to build homes, , Oil spills, acid rain and water pollution also add to the destruction of habitats. Moreover another cause for extinction is when animals are over-hunted for their meat, fur and other valuable parts. Another cause could be ‘when animals or plants arrive into a new habitat from a foreign place they sometimes introduce diseases that the native species can't fight. These "exotic" species can also prey on the native species’.
From an environmental perspective the Amazon is negatively affected from the burning of the trees which is polluting the biggest rainforest in the world with Carbon dioxide (Co2). Also, a lot of nutrients are being lost from deforestation and high quality soil is being wasted. Desertification is slowly happening in the Amazon and other rainforests. If deforestation continues the rainforests will start to lose bodies of water, as well as vegetation and wildlife. There are many problems that the rainforest biome encounters.