Deforestation

Deforestation is the clearance of forests by logging or burning (popularly

known as slash and burn). Deforestation is the permanent destruction of indigenous forests and
woodlands. The term does not include the removal of industrial forests such as plantations of
gums or pines. Deforestation has resulted in the reduction of indigenous forests to four-fifths of

their pre-agricultural area. Indigenous forests now cover 21% of the earth's land surface.
Deforestation occurs for many reasons: trees or derived charcoal are used as, or sold, for fuel or
as lumber, while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock, plantations of commodities, and
settlements. The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage
to habitat, biodiversity loss and aridity. It has adverse impacts on biosequestration of
atmospheric carbon dioxide. Deforested regions typically incur significant adverse soil
erosion and frequently degrade into wasteland.

Trees are one of the most important aspects of the planet we live in.
Trees are vitally important to the environment, animals, and of course for us humans. They are
important for the climate of the Earth, they act as filters of carbon dioxide, they are habitats and
shelters to millions of species, and they are also important for their aesthetic appeal. However,
the trees on our planet are being depleted at a very fast rate. According to some estimates, more
than 50 percent of the tree cover has disappeared due to human activity. Although humans have
been practicing deforestation since ages, it was in the mid-1800s that forests began to be
destroyed at an unprecedented rate. As a matter of fact, throughout the earlier part of the
medieval age, Europeans used to live amongst vast areas of forested land. But later, they began
deforestation at such a high rate that they started to run out of wood for cooking and heating.
Also, due to the depletion of their natural habitat, wild game too began disappearing, which the
Europeans largely depended upon for their nutritional requirements. Today, parallels can clearly
be observed in the deforestation that is occurring in most developing countries.

One of the most worrying factors today is the massive destruction of

the rainforests of the world, which is affecting the biodiversity adversely, as well as being one of
the major contributory factors of the Holocene mass extinction that is ongoing.

Causes of deforestation

The destruction of the forests is occurring due to various reasons, one of

the main reasons being the short term economic benefits. Given below are some more common
causes of deforestation:

Used for Urban and Construction Purposes: The cutting down of trees for lumber that is used
for building materials, furniture, and paper products. Forests are also cleared in order to
accommodate expanding urban areas.

To Grow Crops: Forests are also cut down in order to clear land for growing crops.

To Create Grazing Land: Forests are cut down in order create land for grazing cattle.

Used for Fuel: Trees are cut down in developing countries to be used as firewood or turned into
charcoal, which are used for cooking and heating purposes.

Some of the other causes of deforestation are: clearing forests for oil and mining exploitation; to
make highways and roads; slash and burn farming techniques; wildfires; and acid rain.

According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change (UNFCCC) secretariat, the overwhelming direct cause of deforestation is agriculture.
Subsistence farming is responsible for 48% of deforestation; commercial agriculture is
responsible for 32% of deforestation; logging is responsible for 14% of deforestation and fuel
wood removals make up 5% of deforestation.[13]

The degradation of forest ecosystems has also been traced to economic

incentives that make forest conversion appear more profitable than forest conservation. [14] Many
important forest functions have no markets, and hence, no economic value that is readily
apparent to the forests' owners or the communities that rely on forests for their well-being.
[14]
From the perspective of the developing world, the benefits of forest as carbon sinks or
biodiversity reserves go primarily to richer developed nations and there is insufficient
compensation for these services. Developing countries feel that some countries in the developed
world, such as the United States of America, cut down their forests centuries ago and benefited
greatly from this deforestation, and that it is hypocritical to deny developing countries the same
opportunities: that the poor shouldn't have to bear the cost of preservation when the rich created
the problem.[15]
 Effects of Deforestation
Effects of deforestation can be classified and grouped into
effects to biodiversity, environment and social settings. Because deforestation basically involves
killing trees in forests, there are so many effects that can be enumerated as results of the activity.

When forests are killed, nature basically requires people to renew the
forest. Reforestation is one concept that is in the opposite direction as deforestation, but is
proven to be a much harder effort than deforestation.

So the rate of deforestation has not been offset by the rate of

reforestation. Thus, the world is now in a troubled state when it comes to issues concerning the
environment.

Pollution is rapidly growing along with population. Forests are greatly

helping reduce the amount of pollutants in the air. So, the depletion of these groups of trees is
greatly increasing the risk that carbon monoxide would reach the atmosphere and result in the
depletion of the ozone layer, which in turn results to global warming.

Environment change

One major effect of deforestation is climate change. Changes to the surroundings done by
deforestation work in many ways. One, there is abrupt change in temperatures in the nearby
areas. Forests naturally cool down because they help retain moisture in the air.

Second is the long process of global climate change. As mentioned above, deforestation has been
found to contribute to global warming or that process when climates around the world become
warmer as more harmful rays of the sun comes in through the atmosphere.

The ozone layer is a mass of oxygen or O3 atoms that serves as shield in the atmosphere against
the harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. Because ozone is made up of oxygen atoms, oxygen
reacts with carbon monoxide. Such reaction would use up oxygen atoms.

It follows that when there are more carbon monoxide atoms going to the atmosphere, the volume
of oxygen would decline. Such is the case of ozone depletion.

The third effect to the environment would be on the water table underneath the ground. Water
table is the common source of natural drinking water by people living around forests.

Water table is replenishing. That means, the supply of water underground could also dry up if not
replenished regularly. When there is rain, forests hold much of the rainfall to the soil through
their roots.
Thus, water sinks in deeper to the ground, and eventually replenishing the supply of water in the
water table. Now, imagine what happens when there is not enough forests anymore. Water from
rain would simply flow through the soil surface and not be retained by the soil.

Or other than that, the water from rain would not stay in the soil longer, for the process of
evaporation would immediately set in. Thus, the water table is not replenished, leading to drying
up of wells.

Effect to biodiversity

Forests are natural habitats to many types of animals and organisms. That is why, when there is
deforestation, many animals are left without shelters. Those that manage to go through the flat
lands and residential sites are then killed by people.

Through the years, it is estimated that there are millions of plant and extinct animal species that
have been wiped out because they have been deprived of home. Thus, biodiversity is
significantly lowered because of the savage deforestation practices of some people.

Wildlife advocates have been constantly reminding that several wild animals left in the world
could still be saved if deforested forests would only be reforested and the practice of slash and
burn of forests would be totally abandoned.

Social effects of deforestation

Deforestation is hardly hitting the living conditions of indigenous people who consider forests as
their primary habitats. Imagine how they are rendered homeless when forests are depleted. These
natives would be forced to live elsewhere, and are usually left to becoming mendicants in rural
and urban areas.

Overall, effects of deforestation cannot be offset by the contribution of the practice to

development. While it is logical that progress is very much needed by mankind, it must also be
noted that nature knows no defeat. Destruct it and it would certainly retaliate, one way or
another.