GCSE · Biology · AQA · Spec 8461

Deforestation

Picture a stretch of tropical forest, then picture it gone. Were the trees the prize? In every reason you'll meet today, the prize was the ground they stood on.

Biology · Deforestation

The forest is gone. What is the land for?

Tap a card, then tap the column it belongs in. Guess first: will the last column get anything?

Still to sort

Land to keep livestock (0)

Animals kept on the cleared ground

Land to grow food crops (0)

Fields of crops grown to eat

Where the line is: A food crop is grown to eat. A fuel crop is grown to be made into fuel. Both need cleared land.

Land to grow fuel crops (0)

Crops grown to be made into fuel

Where the line is: A fuel crop is still a crop in a field. The fuel comes from what grows on the land.

Something made from the felled trees (0)

Using the trees that were cut down

4 of 4 still to sort.

Biofuel crops

Reason it through

How does growing crops for fuel end up harming tropical land?

Link 1 of 4

First link · your turn

Start with the fuel. What is a biofuel made from?

Locked — reveal the link above first

What is the forest really cleared for?

A huge area of tropical forest is being cut down.

Which is closest to your own idea right now?

The trees are being cut down so they can be made into biofuel.Cattle are let into the forest to feed, and they gradually wear it away.Fuel crops can't be a big reason. Growing a crop for fuel doesn't need much space.The forest is cut down because the land underneath is wanted.

How sure are you?

I'm sureI think soI'm guessing

The trees are being cut down so they can be made into biofuel.

This is a common misconception

A really common mix-up, and the word 'fuel' makes it tempting. But in this reason the biofuel comes from crops planted afterwards on the cleared ground. It's the space that's wanted, not the wood.

Cattle are let into the forest to feed, and they gradually wear it away.

This is a common misconception

The order is the other way round. The trees go first. Afterwards, livestock such as cattle are kept on the cleared ground.

Fuel crops can't be a big reason. Growing a crop for fuel doesn't need much space.

This is a common misconception

Growing crops to make biofuels takes up a great deal of land. That's why it drives clearing on a big scale, not a small one.

The forest is cut down because the land underneath is wanted.

This matches the evidence

Yes. Livestock, food crops, fuel crops: each reason is a use for the ground once the trees have gone.

When you explain deforestation, begin with what the cleared land is used for.

Biology · Deforestation

Your turn: write it, then mark it

Give two reasons why large-scale deforestation has happened in tropical areas. [2 marks]

Your answer

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

The mark scheme

To provide land for cattle (to keep livestock) (1 mark)
To provide land for rice fields (to grow crops) (1 mark)
To grow crops for biofuels (1 mark)

Model answer

Forest has been cleared to give land to keep cattle on. It has also been cleared to grow crops that are made into biofuels.

Two different land uses, two marks. Cattle and rice fields and biofuel crops are all creditable, so pick any two and name each one clearly.

Exam line: Each reason should name a use for the cleared land. A word like 'farming' on its own doesn't say what the land is used for.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

Why are huge areas of tropical forest cut down? Follow the land.

What you need to know

Large-scale deforestation in tropical areas has happened to provide land for cattle and rice fields.
It has also happened to grow crops for biofuels.
Once forest is cut down, the cleared land is used to grow crops and to keep livestock such as cattle.
Growing crops to make biofuels takes up a great deal of land, and clearing forest to make room for them harms the land.

The big picture

Large areas of tropical forest have been cut down to provide land: land to keep cattle, land for rice fields, and land to grow crops for biofuels. Growing biofuel crops takes up a great deal of land, and clearing forest to make room for them harms the land.

Key points

1One question unlocks the whole topic: what is the cleared land used for?

2Livestock: forest is cleared to give cattle land.

3Food crops: forest is cleared to make rice fields and grow other crops.

4Fuel crops: forest is cleared to grow crops for biofuels, which take up a great deal of land. Clearing forest for them harms the land.

.we-_R_18slubsnpfiv5ubrb_ [data-we-step]{display:flex !important}.we-_R_18slubsnpfiv5ubrb_ [data-we-solution]{display:block !important}.we-_R_18slubsnpfiv5ubrb_ [data-we-reveal]{display:none !important}

Worked example

Problem

A student answers: "Tropical forests are cut down for farming." Improve this into a clear answer that gives the reasons for large-scale deforestation in tropical areas.

⚠ Watch out

Saying the trees are cut down to be made into biofuel. The forest is cleared for its land. The biofuel comes from crops grown on that cleared land.

🧠

Memory hook

Cows, rice, fuel crops: three things that all need the ground where the forest used to be.

✓

Check yourself

Without looking back: name the three uses of cleared tropical forest land from this lesson. Then explain, link by link, how growing crops for biofuels ends up harming the land.

Flashcards

(7)

Tropical forest is cleared to give land to which livestock?

Cattle.

Apart from keeping cattle, what kind of fields replace cleared tropical forest?

Rice fields.

What kind of fuel are crops grown for on cleared tropical forest land?

Biofuels.

Once the forest is cut down, what two things is the cleared land used for?

Growing crops and keeping livestock such as cattle.

How much land does growing crops for biofuels take up?

A great deal of land.

What does clearing forest to make room for biofuel crops do to the land?

It harms the land.

In the biofuel reason, is the fuel made from the felled trees?

No. It's made from crops grown on the cleared land.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

Learning with Lightbulb is opening soon

You can use this lesson now. Join the waitlist and we'll let you know when the full Lightbulb experience is ready.

Keep me posted

The forest is gone. What is the land for?

What is the forest really cleared for?

Your turn: write it, then mark it

More AQA GCSE Biology topics