Soil Erosion

​Direct Effects of Clear Cutting

• Cause by loss of stabilizing root structures.​

• Removes organic soil & nutrients (humus/topsoil)

• Deposits sediments in local streams (turbidity)
  

Increased soil & steam temp.

​Direct Effects of Clear Cutting

• Loss of tree shade increases soil temperatures: soil has a lower albedo than leaves

• Loss of tree shade increases water temperatures: soil erosion also contributes to increased water temperatures.
  

Flooding & Landslides

​Direct Effects of Clear Cutting

• Logging machinery compacts soil.

• Increased sunlight dries out soil.

• Loss of root structure increases erosion and decreases the soils water holding capacity.
  

​Areas where the same species of tree is repeatedly planted, grown and harvested.

Tree Plantations

Biodiverse forest are replaced with a single species.

​Less diversity = lower resilience

Decreased habitat diversity for other organisms.

​​Lowers biodiversity

Sections are planted at the same time.
All are harvested at the same time.
Lack of dead trees in forest continues to lower biodiversity (woodpeckers, insects, decomposers...)

​​All the same age

​Stomata (leaf pores) remove Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Nitrogen Oxides, Particulate Matters and more from the air and store in trees.

​​Filters pollutants

Many organisms live in forest.

​​Provides habitats

​Trees take in Carbon dioxide, store carbon as sugar, wood, other tissues, and release Oxygen.

Carbon sequestering