Rainforests are important for providing ecosystem services such as maintaining the water cycle (regulating service), nutrient recycling (supporting services), and providing clean drinking water (provisioning services). Rainforests are very good at recycling nutrients such as phosphorus. Massive quantities of phosphorus are locked up in rocks that wash off after rain and combine with the soil. Then animals obtain phosphate by eating plants with phosphate from the soil and put it back in the soil by secretion. The breakdown of plant debris and animals dying also releases phosphorus (Phosphorus Cycle). Plants release moisture to the atmosphere from their leaves through transpiration. This moisture condenses into rainclouds that return the water back to the plants (Butler). Rainforests harbor drinking water by water …show more content…
Less precipitation throughout arid months causing extensive aridity is also expected during this period (Climate Change in the Amazon) affecting the water cycle (regulating service). Deforestation causes lower precipitation locally and hotter temperatures because chopping trees down means tress are putting less moisture trees into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration leading to fewer rainclouds (Butler). Less precipitation makes type conversion to dry savanna more likely. Deforestation affects phosphorus recycling (supporting service) that influences the quality of drinking water (provisional service). Deforestation affects the phosphorus cycle by increasing soil erosion with phosphorous to run off into streams and lakes leading to an overgrowth of algae decreasing the quality of drinking water. Deforestation also lowers phosphorous in soils making tropical soils especially infertile for agriculture