Flora rapidly takes up
the nutrients found in tropical soil. Also, decaying organic
material is quickly used, leaving only a thin layer of organic
material. As a result, there is only a thin layer of nutrient-rich
soil on the tropical forest floor.
Logging for timber and
wood products can wipe out vast areas of forest in a single day,
leaving behind this poor, thin, acidic soil. The thin soil is then
easily washed away by tropical rains, quickly baked by the strong
sun, and rapidly blown away. This leaves behind an infertile
wasteland that erodes much faster than forested lands.
In addition, logging
also encourages road production for transport of the industrial
goods, and likewise encourages humans to develop and clear out the
previously forested area.