Deforestation

The aim of this presentation is to sum up the data we managed to collect on the subject in discussion: discussion: deforestation. deforestation.

There are several chapters we have insisted on. This way, the information is on. easier to be retained. retained.

The state of forests in the Maramures County

The Forest Fund

Maramures County, located in the North-Western part Northof Romania, has a total surface of 6304.36km2. The Sylvan 6304.36km2 Direction of Baia Mare administers 187310 ha of the entire forest fund. There are 11389 ha of forest situated at plain, fund. 87081 ha at hill and 88660 ha at mountain. mountain. From the total surface, 2080 ha are affected by pollution and 1020 ha by drought. drought. The afforestation percent/county exceeds the country average, so Maramures cannot be counted among the counties that have a deficit of woodland. woodland. In 2005, the total volume of wood gathered was 419.200 2005, 419. m3.

A brief history of the management of forests in the local area

Until 1859, the owners of woodland where the local 1859, landlords, who had no restrictions regarding the use of wood. wood. 18591859-1921 Forests were administered by the Hungarian Sylvan Code, which stipulated regulated cuts. cuts. 19211921-1948 The Romanian Sylvan Code came into use, managing 89% of the Romanian forest areas 89% During the First World War and the Second World War, however, there were big irrational cuts over large areas of woodland, but they were lately supplemented by the authorities. authorities. In 1948, all forests went to state property. 1948, property.

19481948-1961
The first forest planning for the Baia Mare region was compelled. compelled. The main stipulations were: were: *Establishing a cutting cycle varying from 100-130 years, 100depending of the species; species; *A treatment of successive cuts applied to beech; beech; *Use of technical exploitability. exploitability. However, there were no caring cuts applied to the forests. forests. They were mentioned only in the second forest planning for the region of Baia Mare, which was compelled in 1962

19621962-1972
The second planning (1962) required the use of 1962) regeneration and substitution cuts and therefore the replacement of the trees after they had been cut at the age of 110 years, no matter the species this time, became compulsory. compulsory.

The last forest planning was made in 1972 and the main changes were: were: *A medium age of 61 years for all species; species; *A minimum of 237 m3 of wood volume/ha; volume/ha; *A cutting cycle of 120 years for beech and 110 years for the rest of the species. species.

At present
Afforestation works are now performed in all areas that need such work, their rhythm following with no delay the rhythm of cuts, moreover: adding to them where it is moreover: needed. needed. In 2005, 696 ha of forest were entirely afforested and 2005, 894 ha were naturally regenerated. regenerated. A regeneration plan was developed too, promoting the most valuable Romanian species: beech, sycamore maple, species: common oak, ash tree, sweet cherry tree, spruce fir, sweet chestnut tree. tree. In 2005, there were made regeneration cuts over 1405 2005, ha of woodland, accidental products cuts over 18288 ha, caring cuts over 6116 ha. ha.

2005

Regeneration cuts: >1405 ha, Accidental products cuts: >18288 ha, Caring cuts: >6116 ha.

Excursion Journal

25th November 2006

We made a trip outside town to see what a deforested area looks like. We were like. accompanied by a sylvan engineer and a woodman, who explained to us what a tree cut means and what they actually do to help the forest. forest. We visited the Valea Limpezii forest, 7th canton, Valea Plopilor, Valea Limpedea, from the 2nd district, Baia Mare. What a Mare. long and accurate name name

First of all, the woodman showed us a 2 year old seed bed. This bed. seed bed was in fact a Christmas tree seedling, which is taken care of by the woodman himself, until it reaches the age of 3 and then it will be planted on a degraded ground. ground. The seedbed is in a certain spot of the forest, where it has enough light. And it is light. considered to be the woodmans mirror. mirror.

Then, we headed towards a deforested area. area. 3.5 ha of forest had been cut down, just a few stumps remaining. remaining. But the cut had been a controlled one, as the trees were 120-140 years 120old, which is considered to be the cutting age. age. After this age, if they are not cut, they start to degrade, dry and finally die. die.

The sylvan engineer told us that the cut wood is divided into 2 groups: the groups: work wood, used in constructions, and the fire wood, which is sold to people who need it. Each person has it. the right to buy 5m3 of wood/year. wood/year. Despite this, people still cut down trees illegally, stealing wood to earn money. money. This is because a lot of jobs have been abolished. For abolished. instance: instance: a few years ago, 2000 men worked in the local mines. mines. Today, only 200 still do. do. This is a cause of deforestation. deforestation.

Trees that need to be cut legally are marked with a special hammer, so the Sylvan District knows exactly how many trees are cut illegally, by simply counting the unmarked stumps. stumps. The woodman has to pay for the stolen wood, because it is considered that he hadnt been attentive enough and he hadnt taken care well enough of his woodland. woodland. We may conclude with the woodmans words: The forest isnt words: guarded by me or anybody else, but by fear. So it is necessary to fear. change peoples mentality, in order to prevent, not to deal with the effects. effects.

Data from the Internet regarding the causes and the effects of global deforestation

Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to nonnon-forest land use such as arable land, urban use, logged land, area or wasteland. Historically, wasteland. this meant conversion to grassland or to its artificial counterpart, grainfields; grainfields; however, the Industrial Revolution added urbanization. urbanization. Generally this removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. biodiversity. In developing countries, massive deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climateand geography. climateand geography.

Deforestation results from removal of trees without sufficient reforestation; however, even with reforestation; reforestation, significant biodiversity loss may occur. occur. There are many causes, ranging from slow forest degradation to sudden and catastrophic wildfires. wildfires. Deforestation can be the result of the deliberate removal of forest cover for agriculture or urban development, or it can be an unintentional consequence of uncontrolled grazing (which can prevent the natural regeneration of young trees). trees) The combined effect of grazing and fires can be a major cause of deforestation in dry areas. In addition areas. to the direct effects brought about by forest removal, indirect effects caused by edge effects and habitat fragmentation can greatly magnify the effects of deforestation. deforestation.

Characterization of Deforestation

Deforestation is the loss or continual degradation of forest habitat primarily due to human related causes. causes. Agriculture, urban sprawl, unsustainable forestry practices, mining, and petroleum exploration all contribute to human caused deforestation. deforestation. Natural deforestation can be linked to tsunamis, tsunamis, forest fires, volcanic eruptions, glaciation and desertification, desertification, although the desertification process is driven primarily by human causes. The effects of causes. human related deforestation can be mitigated through environmentally sustainable practices that reduce permanent destruction of forests or even act to preserve and rehabilitate disrupted forestland (see Reforestation and Treeplanting). Treeplanting)

Deforestation defined broadly can include not only conversion to non-forest, but also degradation that nonreduces forest quality - the density and structure of the trees, the ecological services supplied, the biomass of plants and animals, the species diversity and the genetic diversity. diversity. Narrow definition of deforestation is: the removal is: of forest cover to an extent that allows for alternative land use. use. The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) uses a broad definition of deforestation, while the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) uses a narrow definition. definition.

Definitions can also be grouped as those which refer to changes in land cover and those which refer to changes in land use. use. Land cover measurements often use a percent of cover to determine deforestation. This type of definition deforestation. has the advantage in that large areas can be easily measured, for example from satellite photos. photos. A forest cover removal of 90% may still be 90% considered forest in some cases. Under this definition cases. areas that may have few values of a natural forest such as plantations and even urban or suburban areas may be considered forest. forest. Land use definitions measure deforestation by a change in land use. This definition may consider areas use. to be forest that are not commonly considered as such. such. An area can be lacking trees but still considered a forest. forest. It may be a land designated for afforestation or an area designated administratively as forest. forest.

Causes for Deforestation

Present causes
While short-sighted, market-driven forestry practices are shortmarketoften one of the leading cause of forest degradation, the principal human-related causes of deforestation are humanagriculture and livestock grazing, urban sprawl, and mining and petroleum extraction. extraction. Causes include demand for farm land and fuel wood. wood. Underlying causes include poverty, lack of reform. The causes reform. of deforestation are complex and often differ in each forest and country. Government policies, such as ones in Brazil, country. make it a priority to resettle some of the country's numerous landless people. people. The largest cause as of 2006 is slash-and-burn activity in slash-andtropical forests. Slash-and-burn is a method sometimes used forests. Slash-andby shifting cultivators to create short term yields from marginal soils. When practiced repeatedly, or without soils. intervening fallow periods, the nutrient poor soils may be exhausted or eroded to an unproductive state. state. Slash-andSlash-and-burn techniques are used by native populations of over 200 million people worldwide. worldwide.

Theories of deforestation
Three schools of thought exist with regards to the causes of deforestation - the Impoverishment school, which believes that the major cause of deforestation is "the growing number of poor", the Neoclassical school which poor", believes that the major cause is open-access property openrights" rights" and the Political-ecology school which believes that Politicalthe major cause of deforestation is that the "capitalist investors crowd out peasants". peasants" The Impoverishment school sees smallholders as the principal agents of deforestation, the Neoclassical school sees various agents, and the Political-ecology school sees Politicalcapitalist entrepreneurs as the major agents of deforestation. deforestation. Actual data support the first two theories as widespread numerical impacts. impacts.

Historical causes

Prehistory
Deforestation has been practiced by humans since the beginnings of civilization. civilization. Fire was the first tool that allowed humans to modify the landscape. The first evidence of deforestation shows up landscape. in the Mesolithic . Fire was probably used to drive game into more accessible areas. With the advent of agriculture fire areas. became the prime tool to clear land for crops. crops. In Europe there is little solid evidence before 7000 BC. BC. Mesolithic foragers used fire to create openings for red deer and wild boar. boar. On Great Britain shade tolerant species like oak and ash are replaced in the pollen record by hazels, brambles, hazels, grasses and nettles. Removal of the forests led to decreased nettles. transpiration resulting in the formation of upland peat bogs. bogs.

PrePre-industrial History
The historic silting of ports along the southern coasts of Asia Minor (e.g. Clarus, and the examples of Ephesus, Clarus, Ephesus, Priene and Miletus, where harbors had to be abandoned Miletus, because of the silt deposited by the Meander) and in coastal Syria during the last centuries BC, and the famous silting up of the harbor for Bruges, which moved Bruges, port commerce to Antwerp, all follow periods of increased Antwerp, settlement growth (and apparently of deforestation) in the river basins of their hinterlands. hinterlands. In early medieval Riez in upper Provence, alluvial silt from two small rivers raised the riverbeds and widened the floodplain, which slowly buried the Roman settlement in alluvium and gradually moved new construction to higher ground; concurrently the ground; headwater valleys above Riez were being opened to pasturage. pasturage.

From 1100 to 1500 AD significant deforestation took place in Western Europe as a result of the expanding human population. population. The large-scale building of wooden sailing ships by largeEuropean (coastal) naval owers since the 15th century for 15th exploration, colonization, slave and other trade on the high seas and (often related) naval warfare (the failed invasion of England by the Spanish Armada in 1559 and the battle of Lepanto 1577 are early cases of huge waste of prime timber; each of Nelson's Royal navy war ships at timber; Trafalgar had required 6000 mature oaks) and piracy meant that whole woody regions were over-harvested, as overin Spain, were this contributed to the paradoxical weakening of the domestic economy since Columbus' discovery of America made the colonial activities (plundering, mining, cattle, plantations, trade ...) ...) predominant. predominant.

Norman F. Cantors summary of the effects of late medieval deforestation applies equally well to Early Modern Europe: Europe: "Europeans had lived in the midst of vast forests throughout the earlier medieval centuries. After 1250 they centuries. became so skilled at deforestation that by 1500 AD they were running short of wood for heating and cooking. They cooking. were faced with a nutritional decline because of the elimination of the generous supply of wild game that had inhabited the now-disappearing forests, which throughout nowmedieval times had provided the staple of their carnivorous high-protein diet. By 1500 Europe was on the highdiet. edge of a fuel and nutritional disaster, [from] which it was saved in the sixteenth century only by the burning of soft coal and the cultivation of potatoes and maize." maize. Specific parallels are seen in twentieth century deforestation occurring in many developing nations. nations.

Deforestation Today

Growing worldwide demand for wood to be used for fire wood or in construction, paper and furniture as well as clearing land for commercial and industrial development (including road construction) have construction) combined with growing local populations and their demands for agricultural expansion and wood fuel to endanger ever larger forest areas. areas. Agricultural development schemes in Mexico, Mexico, Brazil and Indonezia moved large populations into the rainforest zone, further increasing deforestation rates. rates. One fifth of the world's tropical rainforest was destroyed between 1960 and 1990. 1990. Estimates of deforestation of tropical forest for the 1990s 1990s range from ca. 55,630 km to ca. 120,000 km ca. 55, ca. 120, each year. At this rate, all tropical forests may be gone year. by the year 2090. 2090.

Brazil In Brazil the rate of deforestation is apparently driven by commodity prices. Recent development of a new variety prices. of soybean has lead to displacement of beef ranches and slash and burn farmers which in turn move further into the forest. forest. Indonesia There are significantly large areas of forest in Indonesia that are being lost as native forest is cleared by large multi-national pulp companies and being replaced by multiplantations. plantations. In Sumatra millions of acres of forest have been cleared often under the command of the central government in Jakarta who comply with multi national companies to remove the forest because of the need to pay off international debt obligations and to develop economically. economically.

United States
Upon arrival European-Americans began clearing Europeanlarge areas of forest for wood and agriculture. agriculture. Beginning in about 1850 farm land began to be abandoned because of soil exhaustion and competition from the mid-west. mid-west. Also, mechanization allowed land formerly used as pastures for horses to revert to forest. From 1850 to forest. about 1920 the amount of forest land in the United States actually increased. increased. Today the trend in forest cover increase has reversed as urban sprawl causes conversion of forest as the forest is transformed to suburbs.(Forest on the suburbs. Edge Housing Development on American's Private Forest (USFS))

Impact on the Environment

Deforestation alters the hydrologic cycle, alterring cycle, the amount of water in the soil and groundwater and the moisture in the atmosphere. atmosphere. Forests support considerable biodiversity, biodiversity, providing valuable habitat for wildlife; moreover, wildlife; forests foster medicinal conservation and the recharge of aquifers. aquifers. With forest bioptopes being a major, irreplacable source of new drugs (like taxol), deforestation can taxol), destroy genetic variations (such as crop resistance) irretrievably. irretrievably.

Shrinking forest cover lessens the landscape's capacity to intercept, retain and transport precipitation. Instead of precipitation. trapping precipitation, which then percolates to groundwater systems, deforested areas become sources of surface water runoff, which moves much faster than subsurface flows. That quicker transport of surface water flows. can translate into flash flooding and more localized floods than would occur with the forest cover. cover. Deforestation also contributes to decreased evapotranspiration, evapotranspiration, which lessens atmospheric moisture which in some cases affects precipitation levels downwind from the deforested area, as water is not recycled to downwind forests, but is lost in runoff and returns directly to the oceans; in deforested north and northwest China, oceans; the average annual precipitation decreased by one third between the 1950s and the 1980s 1950s 1980s

LongLong-term gains can be obtained by managing forest lands sustainably to maintain both forest cover and provide a biodegrable renewable resource. resource. Forests are also important stores of organic carbon, and carbon, forests can extract carbon dioxide and pollutants from the air, thus contributing to biosphere stability and probably relevant to the greenhouse effect. effect. Forests are also valued for their aesthetic beauty and as a cultural resource and tourist attraction. attraction.

Atmospheric pollution
Deforestation is often cited as one of causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect. effect. other plants remove carbon (in the form dioxide) dioxide) from the atmosphere during the photosynthesis. photosynthesis. the major Trees and of carbon process of

Both the decay and burning of wood releases much of this stored carbon back to the atmosphere. atmosphere. A.J.Yeomans asserts in Priority One that overnight a stable forest releases exactly the same quantity of carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. Others state atmosphere. that mature forests are net sinks of CO2 CO2

Wildlife
Some forests are rich in biological diversity. diversity. Deforestation can cause the destruction of the habitats that support this biological diversity - thus causing population shifts and extinctions. extinctions. Numerous countries have developed Biodiversity Action Plans to limit clearcutting and slash and burn agricultural practises as deleterious to wildlife, particularly when endangered species are present. present.

Soil erosion
Deforestation generally increases rates of soil erosion, by increasing the erosion, amount of runoff and reducing the protection of the soil from tree litter. litter. This can be an advantage in excessively leached tropical rain forest soils. soils. Forestry operations themselves also increase erosion through the development of roads and the use of mechanized equipment. equipment. China's Loess Plateau was cleared of forest millennia ago. Since then it ago. has been eroding, creating dramatic incised valleys, and providing the sediment that gives the Yellow River its yellow color and that causes the flooding of the river in the lower reaches (hence the river's nick-name nick'China's sorrow'). sorrow').

Removal of trees does not always increase erosion rates. rates. In certain regions of southwest US, shrubs and trees have been encroaching on grassland. The trees grassland. themselves enhance the loss of grass between tree canopies. canopies. The bare intercanopy areas become highly erodible. erodible. The US Forest Service, in Bandelier National Monument for example, is studying how to restore the former ecosystem, and reduce erosion, by removing the trees. trees.

Controlling deforestation

Farming
New methods are being developed to farm more food crops on less farm land, such as high-yield hybrid highcrops, greenhouse, autonomous building gardens, and greenhouse, hydroponics. hydroponics. The reduced farm land is then dependent on massive chemical inputs to maintain necessary yields. yields. In cyclic agriculture, cattle are grazed on farm land agriculture, that is resting and rejuvenating. rejuvenating. Cyclic agriculture actually increases the fertility of the soil. Selective over farming can also increase the soil. nutrients by releasing such nutrients from the previously inert subsoil. subsoil. The constant release of nutrients from the constant exposure of subsoil by slow and gentle erosion is a process that has been ongoing for billions of years. years.

Forest management
Efforts to stop or slow deforestation have been attempted for many centuries because it has long been known that deforestation can cause environmental damage sufficient in some cases to cause societies to collapse. collapse. In Tonga, paramount rulers developed policies designed Tonga, to prevent conflicts between short-term gains from shortconverting forest to farmland and long-term problems forest longloss would cause, whilst during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Tokugawa, Japan the shoguns developed a highly sophisticated system of long-term longplanning to stop and even reverse deforestation of the preceding centuries through substituting timber by other products and more efficient use of land that had been farmed for many centuries. centuries.

In sixteenth century Germany landowners also developed silviculture to deal with the problem of deforestation. deforestation. However, these policies tend to be limited to environments with good rainfall, no dry rainfall, season and very young soils (through volcanism or glaciation) glaciation). This is because on older and less fertile soils trees grow too slowly for silviculture to be economic, whilst in areas with a strong dry season there is always a risk of forest fires destroying a tree crop before it matures. matures.

Afforestation
Today, in the Peoples Republic of China, where China, large scale destruction of forests has occurred, the government has required that every able-bodied ablecitizen between the ages of 11 and 60 plant three to five trees per year or do the equivalent amount of work in other forest services. services. The government claims that at least 1 billion trees have been planted in China every year since 1982. In 1982. western countries, increasing consumer demand for wood products that have been produced and harvested in a sustainable manner are causing forest landowners and forest industries to become increasingly accountable for their forest management and timber harvesting practices. practices.

The Arbor Day Foundation Rain Forest Rescue program is a charity that helps to prevent deforestation. deforestation. The charity uses donated money to buy up and preserve rainforest land before the lumber companies can buy it. it. The Arbor Day Foundation then protects the land from deforestation. deforestation. This also locks in the way of life of the primitive tribes living on the forest land. land.

Romania

Romania is a largely deforested country in Europe. Europe. Just like Hungary, it once had forests covering three quarters of Romania, but currently it has been reduced down to 27%. Out of that, 2% are plantations 27% and 25% are natural forests and managed woodland. 25% woodland. Romania has lost basically 5 million hectares of its forests in the last three centuries. Half were lost due centuries. to end of World War I. Currently the country is trying its best to save the forests, but half of them are owned by private owners. owners. Even today these forests are facing many problems, and the causes are same as they were which are extended droughts, industrial pollution, and over grazing and damage brought by mechanization. mechanization.

Pine tree species have been being replaced by beech and oak for over 60 years and today they constitute 30% 30% tree cover. cover. The government has recently planned to have under 27% forests 27% of conifers. conifers. Most people try to simplify forests for production, but they dont realise that their action is endangering the forests, forests, that could be damaged by cockroaches, rats, wind, and snow. snow.

Forest Cover Statistics for 2000

Total Forest Area (000 ha) Forest Cover (% of land) Plantations (000 ha) Tropical Forest Cover (% of land) Tropical Forest Cover ('000 ha) Subtropical Forest Cover (% of land) Subtropical Forest Cover ('000 ha) Temperate Forest Cover (% of land) Temperate Forest Cover ('000 ha) Boreal/polar (% of land) Boreal/polar ('000 ha) 6,448 28.0 91 0% 0% 100% 6,448 0% -

Solutions
A step forward would be the raise of punishments towards this illegal act, of stealing from the retrocedated woods(after the fall of communism many forest areas were given back to people, but they do not have the right to cut wood from it until, of course, it reaches the cutting age). age). The fine for stealing a cubic meter of wood is less than the amount obtained by selling the stolen cubic meter!!!. meter!!!. Because of this, 6672 m3 of wood were subtracted out of the forests illegally in Maramures in 2005. 2005.

Another solution is the change of mentality. mentality. There have been some actions organized during The Forest Month. Their goal was to make people Month. more sensitive towards the care for forests and so keeping the integrity of the forest fund. fund. The Media should inform people about the beneficial effects that forests have on the environment. environment. Or brochures could be typed and distributed in schools, on the theme Its your right to live in a healthy environment. environment.

In schools, there should be some training involving teachers who want to find out more and help the forests by sustaining several extra classes so that children can learn about the disastrous effects that deforestation has. has. We have initiated in our school an association of volunteers that cooperate with the local authorities and help with the afforestation of the most affected areas. areas. The new volunteers will have to attend a course in which they will learn the causes and effects of deforestation. deforestation. Furthermore, the legislation is often violated in our area. A solution could be the institution of a area. special department in the police, that could track down the illegal groups that deal with stolen wood and raise the security in the areas where wood is stolen from. from.

We rest our case. We hope the information provided by us will be of use to the project.

Maria Janky Alexandra Agapi Oana Marisca Laura Marton Mihai Truica Flavia Petrus Antoniu Barabas Robert Kasa