Nutrient loss deforestation

Biomass Redistribution Associated with Deforestation and Fire. The influence of deforestation on biogeochemical cycles is dependent upon a number of factors associated with the unique characteristics of the ecosystem (climate, soils, topography, etc), the quantity of the total nutrient pool stored in aboveground biomass (Table II), and the level of disturbance (i.e. the degree of canopy removal, soil disturbance, and the quantity of wood or other forest products exported from the site). The quantity of biomass consumed by one or more slash fires following deforestation can also dramatically increase nutrient losses, influence post fire plant succession, and hence, postfire biogeochemical cycles. 

The burning of slash following deforestation, whether intentional or unintentional, results in far greater direct and indirect losses of nutrients than deforestation alone. This is particularly true in many tropical forests where only a small fraction (if any) of the aboveground biomass is removed prior to burning. Carbon losses from slash fires in the tropical dry forest were 4-5 fold greater than C losses from wood export (Table IV) (55). Slash fires in tropical dry forests resulted in N losses of 428-500 kg ha whereas fuel wood export of the relatively N-poor coarse woody debris amounted to approximately 41 kg N ha" Losses of P increase with increasing fire severity. P losses of 10-77 kg ha" as a result of severe fires is not uncommon (Table TV) (53, 58, 60). 

Much of the surface soil erosion and hence nutrient loss occurs when deforestation and biomass burning removes and/or consumes the organic materials that protect the soil surface. Significant losses may occur by dry ravel or overland water erosion associated with precipitation events. Under a shifting cultivation system in a tropical deciduous forest ecosystem in Mexico, Maass et al. 61) reported first year losses of N, P, K, and Ca were 187, 27, 31, and 378 kg ha" respectively. In contrast, losses in adjacent undisturbed forests were less than 0.1 kg ha for all nutrients except Ca (losses were 0.1-0.5 kg ha for Ca). 

Figure 7. Another temperate coniferous forest site of the Pacific Northwest, USA following clearcutting and slash burning. Severe levels of deforestation result in large quantities of nutrient losses through wood export, biomass burning and accelerated erosion and leaching losses. (Photograph is by courtesy of Dian L. Cummings. ...

Figure 1. Generalized nutrient balance of ecosystems in the intervals between disturbance events. Natural disturbances such as wildfires, hurricanes, and floods as well as anthropogenic disturbances such as deforestation and biomass burning can dramatically influence nutrient inputs, internal cycles, and ecosystem outputs (losses).

Similar results were reported in deforested Amazonian rainforests (66). Within three years following forest clearing and burning, nutrient concentrations of soil leachates had returned to levels typical of primary forests of the area. A combination of high rates of immobilization and storage by successional vegetation, coupled with a decline in easily decomposable substrates, was attributed to the reduction in leaching losses. 

In humid areas, the rate of world deforestation is estimated at 6 to 10 million hectares per annum, 2 to 4 millions of which are in South America. The biota being destroyed holds the greater part of the nutrients, which are lost to the ecosystem. This deforestation rate represents a tragic loss of plant and animal species. The usual techniques of soil cultivation, especially where precipitation is high — often above 2,200 mm a — accelerate the natural loss. Special technology is needed for such humid tropical regions. Existing research on such techniques needs to be increased and intensified. 

A related problem is deforestation, loss of forests. The problem is particularly acute in tropical regions, where the forests eontain most of the existing plant and animal species. In addition to extinction of these speeies, deforestation can cause devastating deterioration of soil through erosion and loss of nutrients. 

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