College - Author 1

College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences

Department - Author 1

Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences Department

Degree Name - Author 1

BS in Earth Sciences

Date

12-2009

Primary Advisor

William Preston

Abstract/Summary

Human induced disruption of the environment is prevalent in every culture. In Brazil, the effects of massive deforestation have become apparent since the nineteen eighties. However, along with deforestation, and a coinciding loss in an economic resource for the country, is a significant loss of natural habitat and species extinction. The Amazon in Brazil contains a large proportion of the world’s species diversity that is threatened by the socio-economic activities of modern Brazilian culture. Historically and presently, indigenous groups have contributed to insignificant levels of ecological disruption and are themselves threatened by the activities of modern Brazilians. The effects of ecological disruption range from shifting climate patterns, degradation of soils, loss of floral and faunal species, displacement of indigenous cultures, and the loss of many unknown resources. The preservation of this unique environment is vital to the continued viability of the region.

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