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Over half of the world’s forests have been destroyed in the last 10,000 or so years —
the majority of this loss has occurred in just the last 50 years, occurring
simultaneously with a massive increase in the human population. The incredible scale
of this loss has led to significant changes throughout many parts of the world, and in
recent years these changes have been accelerating. These changes include: large-
scale extinction events, desertification, climatic changes, topsoil loss, flooding,
famine, disease outbreaks, and insect ‘plagues’ — among others.
1. Agriculture
Agriculture is one of the primary drivers of deforestation — both in modern
times and in ancient times. The vast old-growth forests that once covered
much of the world have largely been cut and burned down because of
agriculture. Even when such agricultural-land is reclaimed by nature it
generally lacks the great biodiversity that was found there previously, being
replaced largely by fast-growing plants and ‘weeds’ that favor the depleted
soil. Subsistence-farming accounts for 48% of deforestation, and
commercial agriculture for a further 32% of deforestation, according to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Even the most efficient agricultural systems and practices inevitably lead to
nutrient loss unless supplemented with fertilizer brought in from elsewhere
— this nutrient-loss is especially pronounced with GMO (genetically
modified food) agriculture. And this, along with the soil erosion that
accompanies the loss of large vegetation, further contributes to the soil
erosion and desertification that seems to almost inevitably follow
deforestation in the long term.
As large populations often quickly use up all of the resources located near
them, they almost always become dependent upon expansion in order to
continue fueling their infrastructure — this continues until the reliance on
distant, far-off resources becomes too burdensome and inefficient, and the
civilization collapses or retracts.
3. Desertification
Desertification is the process by which fertile land is transformed into
desert, usually as a result of deforestation, drought, and agriculture
use/practices. Desertification played a significant role in the collapse of
many large empires and civilizations — such as the Roman Empire,
Carthage, the Harappan civilization, and Ancient Greece (Mycenaean
Palatial Civilization/Late Bronze Age Collapse) (For a more in-depth
discussion of this, see: Desertification Effects, Causes, and Examples).
Most of the desertification that these civilizations experienced was as a
result of agriculture, deforestation, and the associated changes in aridity
and the climate.
The process occurs primarily in dry-land ecosystems — which are already
very fragile, and simply can’t support the pressures that result from
significant human populations. Drylands currently occupy about 40% of the
world’s total land area. As these lands are cultivated the limited nutrients
that are available in them are quickly depleted. Often times the land is also
improperly irrigated — leading to salty soils, and emptied aquifers. The
limited natural vegetation that is present is also often overgrazed, leading
to large-scale soil erosion and increased runoff/decreased rainfall retention.
4. Easter Island
Easter Island is the name given to a Polynesian island located in the
southeastern Pacific Ocean by the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen in
1722. It’s often referred to as being the most remote inhabited island in the
world. And is well known for its large stone monuments, called moai.
Throughout its relatively recent history (last ~1000 years) Easter Island has
experienced repeated episodes of severe famine, civil war, slave raiding,
disease epidemics, resource-plunder/colonialism, and nearly complete
deforestation, as well as showing signs of agricultural failure and repeated
population collapses.
Based on current evidence, the island was likely settled by its current
Polynesian inhabitants around 1100 CE, give or take a few hundred years.
Owing to the island’s limited land area and relative isolation, large
ecological impacts began occurring soon after settlement (based on
archaeological evidence).
“A new style of art from this period shows people with exposed ribs and
distended bellies, indicative of malnutrition, and it is around this time that
many islanders moved to living in fortified caves and the first signs of
warfare and cannibalism appear. Soil erosion because of lack of trees is
apparent in some places. Sediment samples document that up to half of
the native plants had become extinct and that the vegetation of the island
drastically altered. Polynesians were primarily farmers, not fishermen, and
their diet consisted mainly of cultivated staples such as taro root, sweet
potato, yams, cassava, and bananas. With no trees to protect them, sea
spray led to crop failures exacerbated by a sudden reduction in fresh water
flows. There is evidence that the islanders took to planting crops in caves
beneath collapsed ceilings and covered the soil with rocks to reduce
evaporation. Cannibalism occurred on many Polynesian islands,
sometimes in times of plenty as well as famine. Its presence on Easter
Island (based on human remains associated with cooking sites, especially
in caves) is supported by oral histories.”
It’s currently estimated that the world is losing around 137 plant, animal and
insect species every day as a result of rainforest deforestation. That means
that around 50,000 species are going extinct every year currently.
6. Soil Erosion
In ‘undisturbed’ forests there is only a very minimal rate of soil loss.
Deforestation considerably increases this rate of soil erosion — largely
through the actions of increased rainfall runoff and decreased ground
debris. This is further compounded by the increasing aridity of the
unprotected soils and the absence of vegetation and roots — which
work/function to hold the soil together.
“The decline of the Roman Empire is a story of deforestation, soil
exhaustion and erosion,” wrote author Mr. G. V. Jacks. “From Spain to
Palestine there are no forests left on the Mediterranean littoral, the region is
pronouncedly arid instead of having the mild humid character of forest-clad
land, and most of its former bounteously rich top-soil is lying at the bottom
of the sea.”
As demand for food and resources increases with a growing population, the
land and soil is gradually depleted of its nutrients, and also increasingly
experiences erosion. “Regular clearing and plowing exhausted existing soil,
which eventually became infertile. Runoff from deforested hillsides
increased the amount of silt and impeded the flow of water into agricultural
areas. Eventually, due to the Mediterranean climate and the increased
depletion of soil nutrients from hundreds of years of harvesting, yields
diminished. Rainwater that had been locked into the soil through vegetation
and forests was now running off too quickly, with each raindrop unprotected
by plants or by a litter layer.”
While deforestation wasn’t the sole cause of the Roman Empire’s decline
and fall, when combined with its corollaries of: near-constant resource
based war, declining agricultural productivity, increasing rates of
disease/epidemics, rebellion, corruption, a large degree of urbanization,
and reliance on complex systems, it certainly played a part.
8. New Zealand
During the ‘only’ 800 years that New Zealand has been occupied by
modern humans around 75% of the country’s original forests have
disappeared. This loss was at first caused via large-scale burning of the
forests by Maori, and then Europeans, but over time logging has risen to
become the dominant cause of deforestation in the region.
“During the drought of the 1930s, without natural anchors to keep the soil in
place, it dried, turned to dust, and blew away with the prevailing winds. At
times, the clouds blackened the sky, reaching all the way to East Coast
cities such as New York and Washington, D.C. Much of the soil ended up
deposited in the Atlantic Ocean, carried by prevailing winds. These
immense dust storms — given names such as ‘black blizzards’ and ‘black
rollers’ — often reduced visibility to a few feet or less. The Dust Bowl
affected 100,000,000 acres, centered on the panhandles of Texas and
Oklahoma, and adjacent parts of New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas.”