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The forest lake, Russia

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BrightSide - Inspiration. Creativity. Wonder.

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Few people realise that there are places on Earth where human beings have yet to set foot and which are, most likely, still entirely the preserve of wild animals. Many of them are so remote and inaccessible that it would take a huge amount of time, effort and skill for us to reach them. And yet the ones we know about - seen only from the air - are often stunning in their beauty. Perhaps, for all our achievements, it's precisely because these places have yet to see human intervention that they remain so utterly captivating - places which have stayed the same since the dawn of time, pristine in their beauty.

Here are ten of the most stunning and intriguing. Would you want to go there?

The forest lake, Russia

The exact location of this mysterious lake is unknown. According to some, it can be found in the Tyumen region of Russia. How did it come to sit deep inside the forest? No one knows...

Tepui, Venezuela

The word 'Tepui' means 'home of the gods' in the language of the indigenous people of Gran Sabana where these incredible, ominous natural structures are located.

Honokohau Falls, Maui

This remote place is drenched in greenery. The mere sight of it gives you a feeling of the exquisite beauty, majesty and mystery of the natural world. Just imagine what it would be like to travel there.

The Amazon rainforest

This incredible, immense forest sprawls across nine different countries in South America: Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. It's so huge that mankind can never hope to explore all of it - or know everything that's hiding there.

Gangkhar Puensum, Bhutan

This is the highest mountain in the world which has not been conquered by mankind. It's located on disputed territory between Bhutan and China and soars 7,570 metres into the sky.

Tsingy de Bemaraha, the 'stone forest' of Madagascar

These rocky projections and canyons formed over a period of a million years, predominantly under the ground in the form of huge caves. Over the years, monsoon rains washed away metre upon metre of limestone and thick layers of chalky sediment, creating this system of unique, mysterious looking natural bridges, spires and gorges which can reach up to 120 metres in depth.

Kerguelen Islands

Hidden away in the southern part of the vast Indian Ocean, these islands are extremely far away from their 'home' country of France. No planes or tourists go there, and the only way to reach them is via boat from the island of Réunion, close to Madagascar. They might as well be part of Atlantis for all humanity knows about these hauntingly beautiful islands.

Rock Islands, Palau

For modern human civilisation, the Rock Islands are a remote area of the world we no virtually nothing about. However, at some point over the past few thousand years, we can be certain that people have set foot on them. We know this because archaeologists have found evidence of so-called 'tiny people' - an offshoot of humanity which apparently had severely stunted growth - which used to live there.

Dallol, Ethiopia

Today, salt mining takes place in the vicinity of the Dallol Volcano, so strictly speaking this isn't an untouched area. But the immediate area of the volcano is, of course, uninhabitable. Fascinatingly, scientists believe the alien-like landscape of the volcano bears a striking resemblance to the surface of Io, the violently volcanic moon of the planet Jupiter.

Palmyra Atoll

Located in the Equatorial zone of the Pacific Ocean to the south of the islands of Hawaii, this pristine island is supposedly home to a mysterious, magical force.

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Ten incredible and mysterious places around the world untouched by mankind

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Few people realise that there are places on Earth where human beings have yet to set foot and which are, most likely, still entirely the preserve of wild animals. Many of them are so remote and inaccessible that it would take a huge amount of time, effort and skill for us to reach them.

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What is deforestation?

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Facts, Causes &  Effects on deforestation.

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Deforestation can include clearing the land for farming or livestock, or using the timber for fuel, construction or manufacturing.

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Amazon

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The Deforestation of the Amazon (A Time Lapse)

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We can save trees by planting them.

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Some animals are losing their homes because people are cutting down trees to build houses.

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The negative effects associated with deforestation have long been known, but the profound impact on international species was the focus of a recent Australian study.

Their research, undertaken by Macquarie University, was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and revealed that hundreds of thousands of species could soon become extinct due to the effects of deforestation. In other words, expect to be seeing less butterflies, beetles, bats and birds in the very near future.

The study examined global data, documenting 11 key ecological groups, with researchers saying that many rare species that we had not heard of, could have already gone extinct in tropical regions. This is because tropical rainforests are the primary homes for the large majority of our plant and animal species. Removing the homes of these large communities results in mass extinction.

This research is the first of its kind, as never before have trends been able to predict what is likely to happen if serious changes are not made. Predicted losses of species if deforestation in tropical forests continues will be extremely high. 18% of every animal group, with the exception of large mammals and mosquitoes, and more than 28% for seven groups in total are expected to go extinct.

An author of the study, Associate Professor John Alroy from the Department of Biological Sciences, believes that this study is integral to changing how rainforests across the globe are treated -"Even if we preserve forests of some kind in many places, unless we protect them from ever being logged, those forests may end up being empty."

Action and further research into tropical forests and the rare species that inhabit them is necessary and needs to happen now, as it is these unknown species that are more susceptible to extinction. Habitat destruction impacts on the richness of local ecosystems, and just because some common species can adapt does not mean that all can.

As Alroy explained, if humanity wants to protect species for future generations, "The time to do it, is now".

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Deforestation is not only leaving us with fewer forests, but fewer species as well

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The negative effects associated with deforestation have long been known, but the profound impact on international species was the focus of a recent Australian study. Their research, undertaken by Macquarie University, was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and revealed that hundreds of thousands of species could soon become extinct due to the effects of deforestation.

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We can also save trees by not cutting down as many and not building that many houses also by recycling.

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This is an image showing one of the three types of deforestation, logging.

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"The effects of tropical deforestation on climate go well beyond carbon," says Professor Deborah Lawrence, "[it] causes warming locally, regionally, and globally, and it changes rainfall by altering the movement of heat and water."

These are the conclusions of a worldwide study into the deforestation of tropical rainforests, which shows that cutting down trees can have immediate impacts on the climate and put agricultural productivity at risk.
Rainforests are more than just a carbon store
Deforestation and land use change account for approximately 11 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. But the new research finds that cutting down trees doesn't only affect the carbon they lock up.

The research, published in Nature Climate Change, reviews academic studies on deforestation of tropical rainforests in the Amazon basin, central Africa, and southeast Asia. Many of the studies use climate models to simulate what happens if you remove these forests completely, and they suggest that deforestation in the tropics can affect the climate on the other side of the world.

The map below shows how far-reaching some of these potential impacts are. The triangles show areas where rainfall is expected to decrease because of tropical deforestation, and the circles show areas of increase. The colours indicate the link to where the deforestation occurs.

So the models suggest deforestation in the Amazon, for example, can reduce rainfall over the US Midwest and even in northeast China. Deforestation in central Africa can cause a drop in rainfall in southern Europe, and loss of trees in southeast Asian can bring wetter conditions in southern Europe and the Arabian Peninsula.
Global impact of tropical deforestation on rainfall. Projected increases (circles) and decreases (triangles) in rainfall due to complete deforestation of either the Amazon (red), central Africa (yellow) or southeast Asia (blue). Boxes indicate the area where the forest was removed in the models. Numbers show the study the results relate to. Source: Lawrence & Vandecar (2014)
Lead author Professor Deborah Lawrence tells us in an email:

"These are physical effects from removing trees that are not simply related to the loss of carbon dioxide stored inside them. Tropical deforestation results in immediate climate impacts independent of, and in addition to, its contribution to the greenhouse effect."
Tropical deforestation is a global problem
So how does it work? How can cutting trees down in the Amazon affect rainfall in China?

First you have to bear in mind that rainforests cool the air above them by turning water from the soil into moisture in the air. Chop the trees down, and you remove the cooling effect from this additional moisture. The effect is so pronounced, the study finds, that if all the trees in the tropics were cut down global temperature could increase by as much as 0.7 degrees.

With the trees gone the air warms up, creating large, rising masses of warm air. When these air masses hit the upper reaches of the atmosphere, they create ripples called teleconnections that flow towards the mid- and higher latitudes.

Lawrence compares it to boiling water:

"Imagine steam rising off a pot of boiling water, hitting the ceiling in your kitchen and flowing outward, along the ceiling, out the door to your hallway."

So these changes to the atmosphere in the tropics can flow out to the atmosphere of temperate regions and alter their climate, Lawrence says.
Worst-case scenario
It seems unlikely we'll ever cut down an entire rainforest. So why do scientists run these experiments? Lawrence explains:

"We want to understand just how important rainforests are to sustaining the life support system on earth, and we start with a worst case scenario. Large-scale tropical deforestation is the outcome of business as usual economic development, it is the path we took in the US and Europe during the course of our development."

Scientists also use more realistic scenarios, Lawrence tells us, which help identify potential tipping points if deforestation continues at current rates. For example, some studies show that clearing 30 to 50 per cent of the Amazon would trigger a drop in rainfall that could cause a significant decline in how the rainforests functions as an ecosystem.

The study also looks at changes that have already happened as forests have been cleared. In Brazil, for example, the rainy season starts 11 days later in deforested areas, and scientists think that the loss of trees in central Africa may have caused a more than 20 per cent decline in rainfall from the Congo basin to the east coast.
Implications for agriculture
Scientists have also modelled the impact climate changes from deforestation could have on farming in the tropics.

Warmer and drier conditions caused by deforestation could put agricultural productivity at risk, the study finds. Yields of soy in the Amazon, for example, are projected to drop by up to 60 per cent if more trees are cut down, and cattle production may not be viable in some areas as the quality of pasture declines. Adaptation measures might reduce the impact of these effects to some extent, of course.

Deforestation can also cause longer dry seasons and delays to the start of the rainy season, the study suggests. Because forests help moderate high daytime and low night-time temperatures, cleared land is more susceptible to temperature extremes, which some crops may not tolerate.

Limiting deforestation is therefore important for farming as well as tackling climate change, Lawrence argues:

"Agriculture and forestry need to be considered together. Maintaining large tracts of tropical forest is essential for maintaining a climate that sustains tropical agriculture. Forest conservation is an essential aspect of planning for agricultural development."

And alongside climate change, cutting down trees will make growing crops and raising livestock even harder:

"We are already anticipating worldwide challenges to food security because of what we are doing to the atmosphere. Now we have to worry about additional climate challenges because of what we are doing to the surface of the earth."

Main image: Deforestation in Thailand. Credit: think4photop/Shutterstock.com.

Lawrence, D. and Vandecar, K. (2014) Effects of tropical deforestation on climate and agriculture, Nature Climate Change, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2430

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Deforestation in the tropics affects climate around the world, study finds | Carbon Brief

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"The effects of tropical deforestation on climate go well beyond carbon," says Professor Deborah Lawrence, "[it] causes warming locally, regionally, and globally, and it changes rainfall by altering the movement of heat and water."

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Power Knowledge Life Science-Deforestation

There are three types of deforestation: agriculture, logging, and wildfires.

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If you are a PowerKnowledge Life Science subscriber and are unable to access the site, please contact your system administrator or contact PowerKnowledge Life Science Customer Care via email or phone at (877) 381-6649.

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Picture be Crustmania
An example of Deforestation

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Picture By Tammy Williams-Wildfires are one of three types of deforestation and it impacts the atmosphere (air).

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Picture by Anne Mari-Deforestation is connected to all of our Earth systems (geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.)

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What is the Carbon Cycle (Long-Term)?

Carbon is the most important element for building the molecules essential for living things.

You and I are both made of carbon. Our cars use carbon in the form of fossil fuels. And carbon is also a pollutant as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Carbon takes up various forms.

And the carbon cycle is both short-term and long-term. Over millions of years, here are main processes of the long-term carbon cycle.

1 Photosynthesis

Carbon dioxide makes up less than 1% of the atmosphere. The first step of the carbon cycle is how plants take carbon dioxide out of the air through photosynthesis.

With CO ₂ and H ₂ O in the atmosphere, light energy puts these molecules together into complex carbohydrates like glucose. In other words, producers like plants synthesize their food through photosynthesis using sunlight.

If you have the right conditions, this process can repeat for centuries. They decompose and repeats for millions of years. Overall, photosynthesis involves plants consuming energy by reacting CO ₂ and water to produce oxygen and glucose.

2 Decomposition

After photosynthesis, eventually plants die and decay. Over a long period of time, there will be layers of sediment building on each other. Because of the pressure and heat from within the Earth's crust, this generates fossil fuels.

For example, coal, oil and natural gas (methane) are some of the common fossil fuels. The decomposition of dead matter generate these fossil fuel products. Anaerobic decomposition involves bacteria breaking down organic matter such as glucose into CO ₂ and methane (CH ₄). The result is deposits of oil, coal and natural gas.

3 Respiration

Instead of decomposition, plants can either be consumed by a herbivore. Some animals depend on plants for food, energy and oxygen.

Once it's consumed, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere because of cells respiration. In turn, this CO ₂ produced from respiring cells can be used in photosynthesis again.

4 Combustion

After extracting fossil fuels, combustion involves burning them to produce energy. For example, humans use fossil fuels to build factories, drive cars and forge cities. However, a byproduct of combustion is that it releases carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. And as we deplete our oil reserves adding CO ₂ into the air daily, this affects the carbon cycle with an imbalance of oxygen and carbon.

But there is a limit for how much fossil fuels we can extract. Over millions of years, phytoplankton resting on the ocean surface photosynthesizes and takes in CO ₂. Using sunlight, it creates a molecule called glucose (C ₆H ₁₂O ₆) and sinks to bottom of the ocean. Humans discovered these fossil fuels beneath the ocean and started to drill the ancient plankton which became oil.

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CARBON CYCLE: Photosynthesis, Decomposition, Respiration and Combustion - Earth How

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Carbon is the most important element for building the molecules essential for living things. You and I are both made of carbon. Our cars use carbon in the form of fossil fuels. And carbon is also a pollutant as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.