Unit VII Forest Changes Deforestation and Climate Change Paper

Unit VII Web Assignment: Deforestation

Deforestation is the removal of trees in a forest by natural and human actions and rates of deforestation vary across the world. In this assignment, we will examine patterns of global deforestation and their causes using the New York Times Changing Forest website.

Instructions

A. Open the New York Times Changing Forest website for an interactive map of world forests:

Click the link below to access an interactive map of world forests:

Bloch, M., & Corum, J. (n.d.). Changing forests. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/10/01/science/earth/forests.html

You will first see a world map. Give it a general look to gain your coordinates and to see the locations where intact, relatively undisturbed forests and fragmented forests occur.

B. Next, zoom into the specific areas of the Earth to gain a more detailed perspective on deforestation by region. First, click on North America. There will again be a view of intact and fragmented forests also with two buttons on the bottom right of the screen: Recent losses and Ancient forests. Click these buttons to see recent deforestation in North America and the former extent of ancient forests. Do this for each of the other regions on the map (Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, and Australia). Then answer the 10 multiple-choice questions (8 points each), and one short answer question (20 points) in Blackboard.

QUESTION 11

1. Using data from the New York Times Changing Forest website, briefly explain how forests are impacted by climate change and how forests themselves may offset aspects of climate change. Be specific in your examples.

   Your response should be at least 100 words in length.