Deforestation and Its Affect on the Climate

It’s no secret that our planet is in crisis, but does the average person really know the severity of our situation?

Every two seconds, a chunk of forest the size of a football field is cut down and destroyed. That’s 1.32 acres. This means that on average, we lose 40 acres of forest per hour . This should not be taken lightly.

We cut down trees for fuel, materials, and especially to make room for homes and agricultural land. But the consequences of this outweigh the benefits by a landslide.

- According to NASA Earth Observatory, the single greatest direct cause of tropical deforestation is conversion to cropland and pasture, mostly for subsistence, which is growing crops or raising livestock to meet daily needs. Industrialization has contributed greatly to economic development, but in the process has created to so many problems for us and future generations.

- The majority of global deforestation is caused by agricultural production and expansion. Animal agriculture is also responsible for 60% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

- Commercial deforestation (logging) for timber and paper products is a major leading cause to the removal of trees and the loss of more diverse forest ecosystems.

- Mining for minerals, oil, and gas leads to significant deforestation, even more so in tropical/rainforest areas.

- Wildfires (85% of which are human caused) often result in the loss of forests. In some regions, forest fires are intentionally set to clear land for crops.

- Climate change has the potential to influence deforestation by changing rainfall patterns, increasing droughts, and leading forests to be more vulnerable to harmful diseases, invasive pests. Considering deforestation leads to climate change, this could create a cycle.

- The overharvesting of fruits, plants for herbal/medicinal use, and especially wood can reduce forest density and influence the loss of trees. When done unsustainably, agricultural practices can heavily damage our climate.

- The increase of human populations and our growing demand for land space, food, and resources leads to a lot more pressure to make space for urban development.

The loss of forests results in several global effects including but not limited to:

-Major loss of biodiversity

The act of destorying animal habitats causes thousands of species to lose population, either relocating or facing extinction. Plants, animals, and microorganisms, are all highly important to an ecosystem. Their removal reduces the overall genetic diversity of forests. This weakens the ecosystem's resilience, making it harder for the environment to recover from disturbances like climate change or disease.

-Disrupion of the water cycle

Deforestation decreases parcipitation by reducing the number of trees that absorb and release water through transpiration. Less moisture is released into the atmosphere, leading to reduced cloud formation and precipitation. This causes drier conditions, affecting water availability for ecosystems and the human population. Trees also help soil structure, so removing them can lead to increased runoff, which reduces groundwater recharge and can cause flooding.

-Increased greenhouse gas emissions

Trees absorb and store carbon dioxide in their biomass. When deforestation occurs, the carbon trees have stored is released back into the atmosphere as CO2. This contributes directly to global warming.

-Soil erosion

Forests protect land from being exposed to the elements. Without this protection, altered conditions can easily erode soil. Trees and plants help anchor the soil with their root systems. This also leads to loss of topsoil, which is essential for plant growth, and can result in increased flooding, sedimentation in rivers, less resourceful agricultural practices.