What is the annual rate of tropical rain forest loss, as a percentage of total forest area, in each of the five countries?
13 Ecological Footprint Analysis of Tropical Rainforest Deforestation
Use the table below to answer the questions that follow.
| Country | Area of
tropical rain forest (square kilometers) |
Area of
deforestation per year (square kilometers) |
Annual rate of tropical rainforest loss |
| A | 1,800,000 | 50,000 | .03% |
| B | 55,000 | 3,000 | |
| C | 22,000 | 6,000 | |
| D | 530,000 | 12,000 | |
| E | 80,000 | 700 | |
1. What is the annual rate of tropical rain forest loss, as a percentage of total forest area, in each of the five countries? Answer by filling in the blank column in the table.
2. What is the annual rate of tropical deforestation collectively in all of the countries represented in the table?
3. According to the table, and assuming the rates of deforestation remain constant, which country’s tropical rain forest will be completely destroyed first?
4. Assuming the rate of deforestation in country C remains constant, how many years will it take for all of its tropical rain forests to be destroyed?
5. Assuming that a hectare (1.0 hectare = 0.01 square kilometer) of tropical rain forest absorbs 0.85 metric tons (1 metric ton = 2,200 pounds) of carbon dioxide per year, what would be the total annual growth in the carbon footprint (carbon emitted but not absorbed by vegetation because of deforestation) in metric tons of carbon dioxide per year for each of the five countries in the table?