Impact of Deforestation on Adjacent Small Stream Ecosystems

Abstract

If there is one theme that pervades nearly every branch of ecology, it is the complex connectivity of each being to its physical, chemical, and biological surroundings. Though inherently fascinating, these relationships reach a new level of importance when human beings are drawn into the system. In this literature review paper for Dr. Cynthia Kicklighter’s Ecology and Evolution course, I chose to compile information from several independent scientific studies about the impact of deforestation on adjacent small streams - a topic that vividly represents the far-reaching environmental “domino effect" of this single human action.