BIO Unit VII

Unit VII Web Assignment

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/scie…

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 1

What two temperate areas of the world are seeing forest regrowth?

		Australia and North America
		Europe and Asia
		Australia and Asia
		North America and Europe

8 points

QUESTION 2

What region of South America is experiencing the greatest amount of deforestation?

		Argentina
		Amazon Basin
		Colombia
		Peru

8 points

QUESTION 3

Since 2000 forest fires and extended drought have significantly impacted forests in which country?

		Australia
		Canada
		Congo
		United States

8 points

QUESTION 4

Which region is losing an estimated 10 million acres of forest yearly?

		South America
		North America
		Asia
		Australia

8 points

QUESTION 5

Where in Europe is forest loss the greatest?

		Sweden
		Italy
		Spain
		France

8 points

QUESTION 6

How many acres of forest are left in the world?

		100 million
		1 billion
		9.9 billion
		17 billion

8 points

QUESTION 7

Why does the Congo region in Africa still have significant forest cover?

		Strict conservation laws.
		Lack of infrastructure and political instability.
		Protection by the United Nations.
		Fierce lowland gorillas.

8 points

QUESTION 8

Which country in the world has greatest percentage of forest?

		Canada
		Russia
		United States
		Brazil

8 points

QUESTION 9

What is the major natural factor that is causing deforestation in western North America?

		Fire
		Logging
		Mountain pine beetle infestation
		Excess rainfall

8 points

QUESTION 10

Despite having only 5% of the world’s forest cover, which nation is effectively fighting desert encroachment by planting huge numbers of trees?

		Kazakhstan
		Mongolia
		India
		China

8 points

QUESTION 11

Using data from the New York Times Changing Forest website, 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 100 words in length.

BIO 1302 Unit VII Quiz

QUESTION 1

This technological tool used by ecologists can be employed to determine deforestation rates across the world.

		Global positioning system
		Geographic information system
		Remote sensing
		Mapquest

10 points

QUESTION 2

In which element in a fragmented landscape would you expect to find the largest number of species?

		A long, thin patch
		In a corridor
		In a large patch connected to a corridor
		In a small patch connected to a corridor

10 points

QUESTION 3

Which of the following ecological services provided by conservation areas would be associated with flood control?

		Provisioning services
		Regulation services
		Cultural services
		Habitat services

10 points

QUESTION 4

Forest thinning is done in a conservation area to provide open habitat for a particular plant species. The timber is sold to the highest bidder. What type of ecological service would this action be?

		Provisioning services
		Regulation services
		Cultural services
		Habitat services

10 points

QUESTION 5

Which of the following practices would not be used to restore longleaf pine savanna in the American South?

		Prescribed fire
		Controlled grazing by cattle
		Planting line seedlings in low densities at the restoration site
		Thinning the forest canopy to create open conditions

10 points

QUESTION 6

Match the term to the description.

– A. B. C. D. E. F. Longleaf pine – A. B. C. D. E. F. Tallgrass prairie – A. B. C. D. E. F. Ovenbird – A. B. C. D. E. F. Catbird – A. B. C. D. E. F. Cougar

A. A forest interior species rare in fragmented landscapes. B. Occurs in local peat moss-dominated forested wetlands C. Needs prescribed fire for restoration. D. Once covered over 120 million acres from Texas to Canada. E. A species best preserved at the landscape scale. F. An edge species common in fragmented landscapes.