Forest Threats Lab
Both the rainforest and the taiga are under threat, but from very different dangers. Sort the causes of deforestation from acid rain, and match each biome to the schemes that protect it.
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Two forests, two dangers
The tropical rainforest and the cold taiga are both under threat, but the dangers they face are completely different. This lab sorts out the threats to each biome and looks at how people are trying to protect them.
Deforestation words
Four terms run through this module:
Different threats
Each biome faces its own set of dangers.
Why the rainforest is cleared
Which of these is a cause of tropical rainforest deforestation?
- Clearing land for cattle ranching
- Acid precipitation from industry
- Heavy winter snow
- A cold climate
Match each threat to what it is
- Commercial logging
- Acid precipitation
- Cattle ranching
- HEP development
- Cutting down trees to sell the timber
- Polluted rain drifting from distant industry
- Clearing forest to graze animals
- Flooding valleys to make electricity
Saving the rainforest
Rainforests can be protected by CITES, which controls trade in endangered species, and REDD, which pays countries to keep their forests standing. Sustainable livelihoods like ecotourism also let people earn a living without clearing the forest.
Ways to protect it
Select the TWO ways of conserving a tropical rainforest.
- Using CITES to control trade in endangered species
- Using REDD to pay for keeping forests standing
- Burning more fossil fuels
- Draining the forest for farmland
How acid rain reaches the taiga
Put the acid-precipitation threat to the taiga into order.
- Factories far away burn fossil fuels
- The gases mix with water in the clouds
- Acidic rain falls on the taiga forest
- The trees are damaged and the soil is harmed
Which scheme is at work
- CITES
- REDD
- National parks
- Sustainable forestry
- A crate of rare birds is seized at an airport because the export permit is missing
- A government is paid for leaving a block of forest uncut rather than felling it
- An area is set aside by law, so a mining company cannot drill there
- For every mature tree taken out, a young one is planted to take its place
A danger to the far north
Which threat is specific to the taiga rather than the rainforest?
- Acid precipitation from distant industry
- Clearing land for cattle ranching
- A hot, wet climate
- Losing its drip-tip leaves
Threats and cures in words
The tropical rainforest is cleared by logging and farming, a process called _____. It can be protected by _____, which pays countries to keep forests standing. The taiga faces different dangers, including _____ that drifts from distant factories. Both biomes can be helped by sustainable _____ that replaces trees, and by creating protected _____.
Threats to the forest
Tap the TWO statements that are TRUE.
- Cattle ranching and logging are causes of rainforest deforestation.
- Acid precipitation is a threat to the taiga forest.
- CITES and REDD are used to protect the taiga from acid rain.
- The rainforest is mainly threatened by heavy snow and cold.
- Deforestation means planting new forests.
Name the biome or scheme
Work out which biome is threatened, or which scheme is described.
- Land is cleared and burned to graze cattle in a hot, wet forest near the Equator. Which biome is threatened?
- A cold northern forest is damaged by acidic rain drifting from distant factories. Which biome is this?
- Countries are paid to keep their tropical forests standing instead of clearing them. Which scheme is this?
Threats and cures
Explain one threat to the tropical rainforest and one threat to the taiga, and describe one way each biome can be protected.
- Explain one cause of rainforest deforestation
- Explain one threat to the taiga
- Describe one way to conserve the rainforest, such as CITES or REDD
- Describe one way to protect the taiga, such as national parks