Deforestation: provide land for cattle and rice fields

The idea

Deforestation is the large-scale removal of trees from an area. One major reason people clear forest is to obtain land for farming. Two specific uses are grazing cattle and growing rice. Cattle need large areas of grass or pasture, so forest is cut down and often burned to create fields for herds. Rice grows best in flooded paddy fields, so flat, waterlogged land is needed; forest may be cleared and the land flooded to create these paddies. Both activities remove the trees that absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, store carbon in biomass, provide habitats and hold soil together with roots. The cleared land may then be used for farming, but the loss of forest reduces biodiversity, increases carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and can lead to soil erosion and flooding.

What earns the marks

• Deforestation is the clearing of forest to make land available for other uses, including agriculture.
• Cattle farming requires large areas of grazing land, so forest is removed to create pasture.
• Rice farming requires flooded paddy fields, so forest may be cleared and the land flooded.
• Removing trees reduces carbon dioxide absorption by photosynthesis and releases stored carbon when trees are burned or decompose.
• Loss of forest reduces habitats and biodiversity, and roots no longer bind the soil, so erosion can increase.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Thinking deforestation only affects the atmosphere.

  Put it right: It also destroys habitats, reduces biodiversity and can cause soil erosion and flooding.

• Confusing cattle grazing with rice growing.

  Put it right: Cattle need dry pasture, while rice needs flooded paddy fields.

• Assuming cleared land always stays fertile.

  Put it right: Without tree roots and leaf litter, nutrients are leached and soil may be eroded.

Exam tips

• Link each land use to a specific farming need: pasture for cattle, flooded fields for rice.
• Explain the consequence chain: trees removed → less photosynthesis → less carbon dioxide absorbed → more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
• Use the term biodiversity when describing habitat loss, and refer to soil erosion when roots are removed.