Hobbies And Interests
Logging
The number one threat to the temperate rain forest is logging. Logging companies covet rain forest trees because they are significantly larger than trees that grow in other parts of the world, and so have a higher dollar value per log. Trees grow larger both because the leaf matter on the ground is thick and replenishes the nutrients in the soil and because water in plentiful. According to Project WILD, modern logging techniques destroy temperate forests at a rate equal to 10 soccer fields every half hour. Logged trees are used to make pencils, paper products and lumber for building.
Clear Cutting
Clear cutting was responsible for the destruction of much of the temperate rain forest that once spanned across the United States. Clear cutting is when all of the trees are removed from the land, leaving open field. This was done in the American Midwest to make way for agricultural development, expansion of mining and commercial building.
Air Pollution
Air pollution damages trees, making them less able to grow and reproduce. Specifically, air pollution mixes with the moisture in the air and causes acid rain, which chemically damages the foliage and fruit at the top of the tree's canopy. Leaves that are damaged cannot effectively complete photosynthesis, so the plant is less capable of making its own food. Fruit that is damaged may not be able to complete the its reproductive cycle. Acid erosion of the plant's tissues leave it more susceptible to fungal infection, frost and pests.
Fires
Fires caused by lightening are natural, and are an important conservation element. They clean out the forest in a health and natural way. Unfortunately, the number of forest fires caused by man's carelessness is ever increasing. These fires burn off young trees and inhibit the forest's ability to naturally repopulate.
Human Encrochment
Humans cause a number of other threats the the temperate rain forest as well. Hydroelectric projects cause the forest to be flooded with water kept behind damns. Poaching damages the diversity of species living in the forest. Non-native plant and animal species are introduced, creating an unhealthy competition for resources and introducing diseases that the natural inhabitants have no resistance to. All of these acts disrupt the delicate balance of the rain forest ecosystem.