what are the adverse effects of deforestation?
Answers
Causes for Deforestation:
1. Agriculture:Conversion of forests to agricultural land to feed growing needs of people. There are an estimated 300 million people living as shifting cultivators who practice slash and burn agriculture and are supposed to clear more than 5 lakh ha of forests for shifting cultivation annually. In India, we have this practice in North-east and to some extend in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and M.P. which contribute to nearly half of the forest clearing annually.
2. Commercial logging:(Which supplies the world market with woods such as meranti, teak, mahogany and ebony) destroys trees as well as opening up forest for agriculture. Cutting of trees for fire wood and building material, the heavy lopping of foliage for fodder and heavy grazing of saplings by domestic animals like goals.
3. Mining:This causes environmental impacts like erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil, groundwater and surface water by chemicals from mining processes. In some cases, additional forest logging is done in the vicinity of mines to increase the available room for the storage of the created debris and soil.
Answer:
The loss of trees and other vegetation can cause climate change, desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding, increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and a host of problems for indigenous people.