Deforestation is the purposeful clearing of forested land. Forests have been cleared throughout history and into the present era to make room for agriculture and animal grazing as well as to obtain wood for fuel, manufacture, and construction.
Around the world, deforestation has significantly changed the terrain. Approximately 2,000 years ago, Western Europe was 80 percent forested; today, it is only 34 percent. Between the 1600s and the 1870s, almost half of the woods in eastern North America were cleared for agriculture and logging. Over the previous 4,000 years, large areas of China’s woods have been lost, and only slightly more than 20% of the country is today covered in trees. Earth’s cropland was previously largely covered in trees.
More carbon dioxide may be emitted into the atmosphere as a result of deforestation. Because trees use carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and because carbon is chemically bound in their wood, this is the case. This carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide when trees are burned. Because there are fewer trees to absorb carbon dioxide, this greenhouse gas builds up in the atmosphere and hastens global warming.
The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in habitat damage, biodiversity loss, and aridity. Deforestation causes extinction, changes to climatic conditions, desertification, and displacement of populations, as observed by current conditions and in the past through the fossil record. Additionally, the biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide is decreased due to deforestation, which intensifies negative feedback loops and accelerates the warming process. By converting forests to agriculture and generally decreasing the amount of arable land available, global warming also increases the burden on people who want food security. Significant environmental consequences of deforested areas include soil erosion and degradation into a wasteland.
Where is deforestation happening?
To a certain extent, deforestation happens everywhere in the world and has been happening even throughout our history. Within the limits of sustainability, forests have an incredible capacity to recover and can be logged for centuries without getting damaged.
The problem comes when our consumption exceeds the natural ability of forests to regenerate, and when we start to overexploit this resource on a large scale. Unfortunately, this is exactly what is currently happening in many tropical countries that are home to unique rainforests.
According to a 2017 study of the world’s deforestation hot spots, Brazil, Indonesia and The Democratic Republic of Congo are countries with the highest absolute forest loss in the world.
In Brazil, forests are cleared to make space for agriculture. In Indonesia, it is for the palm oil and paper industry. And in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the main reason is extensive tree felling for fuel and farmland around rapidly growing cities.
What are the Human Activities that Cause Deforestation?
The primary anthropogenic activities (human activities) that contribute to deforestation include:
- Logging – cutting of trees for use as raw material
- Mining and urban expansion – clearing of forest area for the construction of infrastructure.
- forest fire – burning of hundreds of trees every year either Natural or man-made.
- overpopulation – Increase in population would require more land to establish houses and settlements.
- Agriculture – small-scale and large-scale farming
What Are the Effect Of Deforestation on the Environment?
1. Climate Imbalance and Climate Change
Deforestation also affects the climate in many ways. Forests are the lungs of our planet. Trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen and water vapor in the air, and that is why tropical rainforests are extremely humid.
Trees also provide shade that keeps the soil moist. All of these are compromisbyith the lack of trees. It leads to an imbalance in the atmospheric temperature and e, a drier climate, further making conditions for the ecology difficult which leads to climate change.
Several animals and plant species that form the flora and fauna across the world are vastly accustomed to their natural habitat. As a result, it would be extremely difficult for them to survive, leave their natural environment, or adapt to other ecosystems if forests were cleared carelessly.
When a forest is cleared, the humidity levels drop, which dries out the remaining plants. Tropical rainforests are becoming drier, which causes more fire damage, which quickly decimates forests and hurts both people and wild animals.
Climate and forests are inextricably intertwined. Our changing climate has both a cause and an influence on forest loss and degradation. Deforestation is a self-sustaining process at the same time.
These occurrences are risky because they encourage more deforestation. Additionally, the absence of trees makes it possible for soil erosion, desertification, flooding, and an increase in temperature to happen more quickly and exponentially.
2. Increase in Global Warming
An important factor in reducing global warming is the use of trees. By absorbing greenhouse gases, trees help to balance the atmosphere. Our problems with global warming have been made worse by ongoing deforestation, which has increased the number of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
3. An increase in emissions of greenhouse gases
Carbon dioxide and other harmful greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by forests. They do, however, turn into carbon sources after they are cut, burned, or otherwise eliminated.
Around 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions are thought to be caused by deforestation, and 1.5 billion tons of carbon are released annually into the atmosphere as a result of tropical deforestation.
4. Soil Erosion
Because they continuously return water vapor to the atmosphere, trees are also essential for our regional water cycles. As the rainwater seeps into the soil, it continues to be moist.
The extensive root systems of numerous layers of trees hold the rich soil in place. The removal of tree cover has left the area directly exposed to the sun, which has dried it up.
If there are no trees, erosion frequently takes place and the ground is swept into surrounding rivers and streams. The natural water purifying system is provided by forests. Our drinking water’s quality is harmed by toxins that seep into the soil as a result of soil erosion.
5. Floods
With the aid of their roots, trees can able able able to absorb and store a lot of water when it rains. When they are removed, the water flow is hampered, and the soil’s capacity to hold water is diminished. In certain locations, it causes floods, while in others, it causes droughts.
6. Loss of habitat and extinction of wildlife
Numerous animal species are extinct as a result of the widespread tree cutting. They are compelled to relocate as well as lose their habitat. Numerous of them have even been driven to extinction.
Over the past few decades, countless plant and animal species have disappeared from our planet. According to a study of the Brazilian Amazon, up to 90% of predicted extinctions won’t take place for the next 40 years.
7. Acidic Oceans
Our waters get increasingly acidic as a result of the increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels brought on by deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. Beaches have already become 30% more acidic since the Industrial Revolution, putting ocean ecosystems and species at grave risk.
8. People’s Life Quality Is Declining
Millions of people rely on trees for medicine, gathering, small-scale agriculture, and hunting. Tropical forests are the source of many common products we use daily, including latex, cork, fruit, nuts, natural oils, and resins.
Our waters get increasingly acidic as a result of the increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels brought on by deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. Beaches have already become 30% more acidic since the Industrial Revolution, putting ocean ecosystems and species at grave risk.
8. People’s Life Quality Is Declining
Millions of people rely on trees for medicine, gathering, small-scale agriculture, and hunting. Tropical forests are the source of many common products we use daily, including latex, cork, fruit, nuts, natural oils, and resins.
9. Loss of Biodiversity
Significant biodiversity is lost as a result of deforestation. Tropical rainforests are home to about 80% of the world’s biodiversity. Forests support medicinal conservation in addition to offering habitat for wildlife.
The forest serves as a vital preservation tool for a range of species. Additionally, it obliterates the microbial ecosystem that generates clean water, removes contaminants, and recycles nutrients.
What Are The Controls Of Deforestation?
1. To enhance the amount of permanent forest cover, lessen the strain on natural forests, preserve biodiversity, safeguard watersheds and soils, and stabilize climax, all countries should encourage the regeneration of degraded forest lands. Forest restoration is a difficult task that takes years to complete and necessitates meticulous planning and monitoring. If we don’t want to lose all of our forests, it is not simple but it is vital.
2. A concerted effort should be made to stop encroaching pressures by giving small and landless farmers security over their land through land tenure law, land reform, or agrarian reform.
3. To reduce their direct and indirect effects on natural forests, development projects (such as mining, hydroelectric, road construction, plantations, etc.) should be appropriately modified.
4. The government ought to impose restrictions on overgrazing in forest regions.
5. Efforts should be made to reduce the amount of waste produced during the processing of wood, improve the efficiency of wood-burning stoves, and look for alternative raw materials to relieve pressure on forests.
6. Observe the rights of native people. Millions of indigenous people’s lives are destroyed by deforestation, even though this issue is not generally known or extensively acknowledged. Large foreign businesses deliberately violate the rights of residents in many isolated places while working under the cloak of corrupt governments.
However, the prevalence of (illegal) deforestation declines when indigenous people are granted equal rights and their customary lands are protected since they are then able to legally fight for the conservation of their woods.
7. When it comes to forest growth, ecological stability should take precedence over economic stability. In this method, certain trees are deliberately cut down while causing the least amount of harm to the forest as a whole. The long-term goal of this approach is to steadily cut down mature trees while largely preserving the forest ecology.
8. To develop degraded forest lands and preserve the current forests, efforts should be made to involve residents, NGOs, and forest departments.
9. The dangers of deforestation should be made more widely known. The amount of deforestation can be decreased by educating people about the consequences of their behavior, such as the consumption of palm oil.
10. Forests should be respected as a worldwide asset to be maintained for the welfare of the entire world, not as a means of generating income.
11. Reduce the number of trees cut down by recycling paper and cardboard. Because so many trees are felled each day to make paper, a lot of carbon dioxide is recycled every day. Your purchase not only lessens the need to clear additional trees but also supports paper recycling facilities and lowers waste entering landfills. Try to buy your next notebook made of recycled paper instead, and the earth will be very appreciative.
12. Planting trees is the simplest method of preventing deforestation. You may think of planting a tree as making a long-term investment in both the environment and your mental well-being.
Billions of tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, are emitted into the atmosphere as a result of tree chopping. You can fight global warming by growing trees because they absorb carbon dioxide. The calming and healing powers of trees are well known.
13. Reduced meat consumption is advised. Compared to plant-based farming, animal agriculture requires substantially bigger land areas to generate the same amount of protein. The demand for meat on a global scale keeps growing, but our ability to raise livestock does not. Because of this, animal ranching has emerged as one of the main drivers of Amazonian deforestation.
14. Limit your firewood burning to prevent deforestation. Around the world, more than two billion people only rely on firewood for cooking and home heating. Unfortunately, this frequently occurs in underdeveloped places where woods close to villages and cities that are already susceptible are cut down for fuel long before they can regrow. Such poor management causes them to gradually vanish altogether.
