The impact of deforestation on a tropical rainforest biome

There are three ways by which deforestation affects the tropical rainforest biome.

1. Habitat Destruction

Straightforward as it seems, deforestation fundamentally removes the habitat in which many organisms thrive on. As rainforest land is converted to ranches, agricultural land and urban areas for human use, forest organisms lose their habitat. Habitat destruction may only affect local population numbers in the short term. Yet species which are endemic, the ones that have specialized and limited habitats, this change can be extremely detrimental.

2. Forest Fragmentation

Fragmentation, or simply the loss of land area, seriously thwarts the reproduction of plant and animal populations. Since many tropical trees are pollinated by animals, the maintenance of adequate pollinator population is a must for helathy reproduction of trees. When a large forest becomes fragmented, many species of trees become isolated as their pollinators cannot cross the unforested areas. The trees in the fragmented areas will consequently lose genetic variability.

3. The 'Edge' Effect

Deforestation generates many “edges” in areas that previously used to be deep forests. As these areas become edges of the forest, they undergo significant environmental changes: they become lighter, warmer and windier than the forest interior. These changes in microclimate alter plant reproduction, animal distribution, the biological structure and many other features of the forest. The drier and warmer conditions also make the edges more prone to forest fires. Without further stress, the forest may regenerate.

Source: http://www.rainforestconservation.org/rainforest-primer/2-biodiversity/g-recent-losses-in-biodiversity/5-causes-of-recent-declines-in-biodiversity/