Enviromental Change

In this web quest you'll be able to find information about environmental change in Toolibin Lake and Papua New guinea 

*please disregard all titles that you may come across e.g.Task, process,etc.*

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Papua New Guinea is situated in the pacific ocean. It south-western pacific coastline stretches approximately 5,150km with 600 small islands. The climate in Papua New Guinea is hot and humid throughout the year along the coasts and in the plains, while it is progressively cooler, and then colder, as you go up in altitude. Many describe the PNG climate as Tropical Rainforest.

Deforestation in Papua New Guinea (PNG)

CAUSES:

Deforestation in PNG is cause by logging-the process of cutting,processing and moving trees-Forest areas can be reduced to only grasslands after trees are cut down for uses like firewood,hunting, grazing, etc. Big companies also like to demand for space for plantations (e.g. palm oil) often clearing forests.

IMPACTS:

Deforestation in PNG causes loss of biodiversity. Homes and habitats of animals get destroyed causing the with shortages of food resources and simply nowhere to live leaving them to become endangered or even extinct. Habitat degradation can also occur, as logging is on the rise people try to find more easier and efficent ways to enter forest quicker and easier so to help with this new roads get put in which can cause widespread fragmentation. As forest reduce less carbon dioxide is getting absored by the trees which affects the atmosphere and results in air pollution.

TOOLIBIN LAKE

Toolibin lake is a seasonal wetland meaning water only fills the lake during certain times of the year. Toolibin has a rich habitat that provides a home for many kinds of plants, animals and water birds. Trees that are found in this area include the Casaurina Obesa and Maleluca Strobophylla. Toolibin is located 200km south-east of Perth. found in the Upper Blackwood River Catchment 

CAUSE:

Natural vegetation has been removed in the past for agriculture. This causes the water table to rise as there is no vegetation to absorb the water. Along with the water salt also rises which make the soil and water system saline. As salinity levels rise Toolibin's ecosystem deteriorates. 

IMPACT:

A decline in vegetation has been noticed and was first realised when tree deaths occured. 

WATCH : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg9SPBtouT4

(Video of Toolibin lake when full)

REFERENCES

References

2021. [online] Available at: <https://wwf.panda.org/discover/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/new_guinea_f…; [Accessed 23 March 2021].

2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264938566_WATER_BALANCE_AND_SA…; [Accessed 23 March 2021].

Encyclopedia Britannica. 2021. Papua New Guinea - Climate. [online] Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/place/Papua-New-Guinea/Climate&gt; [Accessed 27 March 2021].

Library.dbca.wa.gov.au. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://library.dbca.wa.gov.au/static/FullTextFiles/072026.pdf#:~:text=…; [Accessed 23 March 2021].