Industrialization and the Effects on Biodiversity

Industrialization and the Effects on Biodiversity

Matthew B. Parra
College of DuPage

Industrialization and the Effects on Biodiversity

Abstract
This paper explores the effects of industrialization, specifically deforestation. Along with
understanding why and how countries must industrialize, this paper will touch upon the history
of industrialization as a civilization. Most importantly, this paper will highlight sustainable
practices and examples of countries that follow them to ensure that they protect the forests and
species that reside in them while still industrializing. Lastly, this paper will show the progress the
people have made regarding loss of species and the deforestation of forests.
Keywords: Industrialization, Biodiversity, Deforestation, Amazon, Forest, Brazil,
Ecosystem, Sustainable, Management

Industrialization and the Effects on Biodiversity

Industrialization and the Effects on Biodiversity

One of the biggest problems arising these days is the effects that industrialization has had
on ecosystems and the species that live in them. One of the most popular ways to industrialize is
deforestation, which is the clearing of all the trees in forests to use all of the natural resources it
has to offer. Unfortunately, when this method is not performed correctly, it affects people, the
ecosystem, and all of the plants and animals that live in that ecosystem. This paper will explore
how and why we must industrialize, the right and wrong ways to do it, and which countries have

Industrialization and the Effects on Biodiversity

set examples for future generations to follow.

Industrialization and the Effects on Biodiversity

History of Industrialization
The Industrial revolution was necessary for the world because population kept on
growing and we needed to use more resources to fulfill the demand. Once the population began
to increase, it never really slowed down. The birth of the Industrial Revolution altered medicine
and living standards, resulting in the population explosion that would commence at that point
and steamroll into the 20th and 21st Centuries. In only 100 years after the onset of the Industrial
Revolution, the world population would grow 100 percent to two billion people in 1927 (about
1.6 billion by 1900).(McLamb, E). This is a huge population boom that demanded resources
fast. The industrial age did not start in America, It started in the mid-1700s in Great Britain
when machinery began to replace manual labor. Fossil fuels replaced wind, water and wood,
used primarily for the manufacture of textiles and the development of iron making processes.
The full impact of the Industrial Revolution would not begin to be realized until about 100 years
later in the 1800s, when the use of machines to replace human labor spread throughout Europe
and North America (McLamb, E). Deforestation, also called logging, is when a large area of
natural forest is cleared to use the land for agriculture or natural resources such as wood. The
industrial revolution has had its positive effects and some negative ones as well.
Effects of Deforestation
The effects of deforestation mainly affect the animal life that lives in them, but it affects
humans and the environment as well. Sofia Hirakuri states, Although logging is a good longterm economic thing in the forest. Present logging operations can be characterized as "forest
mining", because no silvicultural measures are taken to guarantee the regeneration of exploited
species, and forests become more susceptible to fire due to fire due to the loss of humidity.
(Hirakuri, S) This quote shows that logging is a way to make money but it also shows that it

Industrialization and the Effects on Biodiversity

sometimes is poorly managed. Furthermore, trees go through a process called evapotranspiration.

Evapotranspiration occurs because trees have water on their leaves that evaporate to contribute to
the water cycle so it can rain. When these trees arent present, it becomes very dry and in turn,
can result in higher chances of forest fires.
Another important effect of deforestation is its effect on biodiversity. Biodiversity is the
variety of species in an ecosystem. Forests thrive best when biodiversity is high. Deforestation
is a primary driver of biotic extinctions in the tropics. The impacts of deforestation in tropical
biodiversity hotspots are of particular concern because these regions contain high concentrations
of globally endemic species. (Pandit, M. K., Sodhi, N. S., Koh, L. K., Bhaskar, A., & Brook B.
W) A biodiversity hotspot is a large area where there is a high amount of biodiversity and when it
gets affected, so does the entire ecosystem. Deforestation forces species to find new habitat to
live in which also will result in more competition for food.
Importance of Biodiversity.
The importance of biodiversity can be observed by the result of what happened at
Yellowstone National Park when the Gray Wolves were hunted and forced to extinction. The
reason they were hunted was because the wolves were eating the nearby animals belonging to
farm owners. The farm owners teamed up and hunted down the wolves. Once the wolves were
eliminated, people started noticing the plant life of Yellowstone was decreasing. This resulted
because wolves preyed on elk and elk eat plants. With no predators, the elk got to feast on the
plant life, resulting in a large loss of plants. Then, people figured that the wolves needed to be
restored in order to restore Yellowstone. Gray wolves were restored to Yellowstone National
Park in 19951996 with the release of 31 wolves captured in western Canada .In the 7 years
following their initial release, wolves have recolonized the 8991-square-kilometer (km2) park

Industrialization and the Effects on Biodiversity

and several adjacent portions of the 72,800 km2 greater Yellowstone ecosystem (Smith, D. W.,
Peterson, R. O., Houston, D. B). Wolves have taken their place back in Yellowstone, showing
that through management, humans could aid effected ecosystems. With gray wolves restored to
Yellowstone National Park, this ecosystem once again supports the full native array of large
ungulates and their attendant large carnivores (Smith, D. W., Peterson, R. O., Houston, D. B).
Once they were restored, so was Yellowstone. This is just one example of how important species
are to their ecosystems.
Brazil is home to the Amazon forest which contains much of the most exotic species and
it is being affected by deforestation. If deforestation were to continue at this rate, most of the
Amazonian tropical forests would disappear in 50 to 100 years. Removal of the Amazonian
forest would also have tremendous effects on species diversity and atmospheric chemistry. The
Amazon basin is host to roughly half of the world's species, and the intensity and complexity of
plant-animal interactions and the rapid nutrient cycling in the soils make the region vulnerable to
external disturbances (Shukla, J., Nobre, C., & Sellers, P). The effects of deforestation could
even result in a total loss of an entire ecosystem if deforestation continues to go unmanaged.
Forests can be rehabilitated through management or sustainable logging practices.
Properly applied, forests management plans limit the intensity of logging and prevent long-term
damage to the forest structure. So when logging is properly conducted, it does not exceed
regeneration capacity, and the forest can serve environmental needs and yield forest products
sustainably (Hirakuri, S). Through management, forests can still thrive as an ecosystem if there
is a plan to keep enough forest available for species to live in. Another way to help forests is to
plant new trees to replace the deforested ones. Plantations and restored forests can improve
ecosystem services and enhance biodiversity conservation, but will not match the composition

Industrialization and the Effects on Biodiversity

and structure of the original forest cover (Chazdon, R). Although afforestation will provide a
new forest that species can live in, it will not compare to what it used to be.

Countries setting examples.

As stated earlier, Brazil is home to the Amazon forest, but one might ask, what
procedures or laws exist to preserve the forest? They have a couple of laws but they lack the
authority. The first law is called the National Environmental Policy Law. The National
Environmental Policy Law establishes the basic principles of governmental action to maintain
ecological balance, planning, and law enforcement for the rational use of natural resources.
(Hirakuri, S). This law is meant to keep biodiversity at a sustainable level and to have
government manage the forests. Unfortunately, the government hasnt prioritized this law. There
is another law in Brazil which was meant to forbid deforestation. The Environmental Crime
Law of 1988 regulates criminal and administrative penalties for behavior and activities harmful
to the environment (Hirakuri, S). Unfortunately, this law is not effective due to its common
overturn in the courts. This just shows that the Brazilian government does not put in effort to
seriously sustain the forest. This may be why Brazil has the highest deforestation rate compared
to other countries.

Industrialization and the Effects on Biodiversity

Luckily, with the help of deforestation awareness, Brazil has learned to change their
ways. In 1996, the government instituted a major change in one of the most visible forest
protection laws. Until that time the Forest Code permitted landowners to deforest 50% of their
land; they were required to leave the other half in forest. But the 1996 provisional measure
reduced allowable deforestation to just 20%, in the hope of reducing forest loss (Hirakuri, S).
This is another step towards the right direction for Brazil because it cut down the amount of
forest allowed to be cleared. This law will help save species that would otherwise be threatened.

Conclusion.
Now, we understand why it is important to slow down deforestation in order to preserve
the forests and species that live in them. If not, it could result in loss of species which lower
biodiversity or even loss of the entire forest itself. To add, it has been shown in the graph below
that the global deforestation rate has decreased over the years. Although the global deforestation
rate remains high, 13 million ha/year, forest cover in 18 countries has begun to increase, owing

Industrialization and the Effects on Biodiversity

10

to both afforestation (tree planting on previously unforested land) and natural regeneration
(Chazdon, R). This is good news for species that were affected by deforestation because they are
getting the opportunity to thrive and increase biodiversity which is good for ecosystems.

Industrialization and the Effects on Biodiversity

11

References
Chazdon, R. L. (2008, June 12). Beyond deforestation: Restoring forests and ecosystem
services on degraded lands. Science, 320(5882), 1458-1460.
Hirakuri, S. R. (2003). Can law save the forest? Jakarta, Indonesia: CIFOR.
McLamb, E. (2011, September 18). Impact of the industrial revolution. Retrieved March
19, 2015, from Ecology website: http://www.ecology.com/2011/09/18/ecological-impactindustrial-revolution/
Pandit, M. K., Sodhi, N. S., Koh, L. K., Bhaskar, A., & Brook, B. W. (2007). Unreported
yet massive deforestation driving loss of endemic biodiversity in Indian Himalaya. Biodiversity
and Conservation, 16(1), 153-163.
Shukla, J., Nobre, C., & Sellers, P. (1990). Amazon deforestations and climate change.
Center for International Earth Science Information Network, 247(4849), 1-6.
Smith, D. W., Peterson, R. O., & Houston, D. B. (2003). Yellowstone after wolves.
BioScience, 53(4), 330-340