State it's two causes and effects of deforestation
Answers
Answer:
Forests are vital to our Earth. Trees purify our air, filter our water, prevent erosion, and act as a buffer against climate change. They offer a home to plant and animal species while also providing natural resources such as medicine, food, timber, and fuel. 300 million people live in forests worldwide. 60 million of those humans are indigenous who are completely dependent on native woods.
Become informed on man-made and natural causes of deforestation and how and why it is affecting our planet.
What is Deforestation?
Deforestation is the permanent destruction of forests in order to utilize the land or trees. Typically, deforestation is clearing a lot of trees without the intention of establishing future growth. Harvesting, forest fires, and insect infestations do not count as deforestation because the affected areas will eventually grow back. In some countries, such as Canada and America, all areas harvested must be reforested either by replanting or through natural regeneration.
The land is then often converted into farms, plantation, roads, housing, and other city uses. Deforestation is most severe in various countries such as the Amazon, Borneo, Congo Basin and the Russian Far East. Over half of the world’s forests have been destroyed over 10,000 years, the majority in just the last 50 years. These immense changes include large-scale extinction events, desertification, climatic changes, topsoil loss, flooding, famine, disease outbreaks, and more.
Deforestation has even been caused by extensive war—throughout history fire has often been used to deprive the enemy of necessary resources. If they’re not reforested, they inevitably end up as wastelands directly from soil erosion and desertification.
Causes of Deforestation
Overpopulation. Due to overpopulation, more land is needed to establish housing and settlements. As well as many, many more roads and highways are being built in order to accommodate a larger sum of people driving. With more people that come with a large need for food and farmland to grow on and raise livestock—resulting in deforestation. Logging industries will cut down trees for furniture, paper, building materials, and many more products. These are a direct result of growing human population and is why it’s important to purchase from sustainable companies which actively work against deforestation
Logging. Wood-based industries such as paper, matchsticks, and furniture need a substantial quantity of wood. Lumber and charcoal are common examples of trees being used as fuel. Cooking and heating all around the world use these resources, and half of the illegal removal from forests is thought to be used as fuelwood. Large areas are also cleared to construct roads in order for large trucks to have entry to logging sites. Selective logging is where only the most valuable trees are felled, however, this doesn't help our problem as one large tree may bring down surrounding trees and thin the forest canopy. The forest canopy is extremely important to the ecosystem as it houses animals, protects plants and insect population, and protects the forest floor.
Climate Change. Forests are essentially the lungs of our planet. All plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Trees are able to convert more carbon dioxide than a regular plant, though. Forest loss is often caused by climate change. Tropical rainforests are extremely humid due to the water vapor released along with the oxygen. But when a forest is cut down, the humidity levels decrease and causes the remaining plants to dry out. For example, drying out our tropical rainforests increases fire damage. Fires can be both accidental and intentional but destroy forests quickly.
Effects of Deforestation
Increased Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Trees help to mitigate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, but they become carbon sources once they’re cut, burned, or otherwise removed. It’s estimated that deforestation is responsible for around 20% of greenhouse gas emissions and 1.5 billion tons of carbon is released every year by tropical deforestation.
Acidic Oceans. The oceans are becoming more acidic with an increased supply of carbon dioxide from deforestation and burning fossil fuels. Oceans are already 30 percent more acidic since the Industrial Revolution, putting ocean species and ecosystems at an extreme risk.
Loss of Species. Orangutans, giant pandas, rhinos, and the Asian elephant are just a few of hundreds of endangered species due to deforestation. Removing trees thins the forest canopy which is meant to block sun rays during the day and holds in the heat at night. This damaging disruption leads to extreme temperature swings that are harmful to plants and animals. Many animals, insects, and plants lose their habitats and may become endangered and even go extinct.
Explanation:
Answer:
Deforestation means clearing of forests or stand of trees from land which is then converted to a non-forest use . It would make negative impact upon environment.
Causes of deforestation :
1. A major cause of deforestation is agriculture plantations. An increasing supply-demand for products such as palm oil and soybeans are driving producers to clear forests at an extreme rate.
2. Farmers often clear the land for cattle by using slash and burn techniques (cutting down trees and burning them).And with continuous plantations the fertility of the soil would decrease and so more lands would clear for agriculture.
Effects of deforestation :
1. Flora and fauna would get depleted. Extinction of flora and fauna – Destruction of the forests leads to a tragic loss of biodiversity. Millions of plants and animal species are on the verge of extinction due to deforestation. Countries with tropical forests suffer the greatest causalities due to deforestation.
2. Heavy Soil Erosion – The roots of the trees hold the soil firmly keeping it intact. With large scale deforestation soil erosion and landslides have become a normal phenomenon. During heavy rains and typhoons soil is washed away to lower regions. This increases the risk for landslides which can cause seriously threaten the safety of the people and damage their properties.
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