You might also like: 10 Deforestation Facts You Should Know About. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Abstract and Figures. the environment more than one way and its catastrophic effects on the planet, it is crucial that people around the world take action to mitigate its impact. The problem is were just not getting enough water, Davis said. Increased Greenhouse Gases. In fact, 80% of Earths land animals and plants live in forests. (National Geographic Deforestation 1) Animals would lose shelter, food resources, and breeding area. This effect was most pronounced in the interior of the forest, where some patches of forest are still intact, providing the moist edge habitat that the mosquitoes like. Can we bring a species back from the brink?, Video Story, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. What is the difference between deforestation and logging? Deforestation is the mass destruction of trees in a forest. Often in an effort to clear a large area of land and convert it to a non-forest use. While logging is simply the act of cutting down trees for the purpose of making timber. Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? Which travel companies promote harmful wildlife activities? The FAO estimates that there are approximately 1.3 million square km (500,000 square miles) of such plantations on Earth. However, deforestation is turning these sinks into huge net emitters, something that can have huge implications for slowing the pace of climate change and contributing to a steep rise in global temperatures. Price said this accelerating climate trend, driven by the melting of glaciers and expanding sea water, will see the Everglades retreat further north. They live in settled villages by the rivers, and grow and hunt their food. Steve Davis, the senior ecologist at the Everglades Foundation. However, some national governments have also undertaken ambitious replanting projects. The scientific consensus on deforestation is that it intensifies climate change at a dramatic rate. In 1997, clouds of smoke hung over the rainforests of Indonesia as an area roughly the size of Pennsylvania was burned to make way for agriculture, the fires exacerbated by drought. The current rate of rainforest-loss generated emissions is nearly 25% higher than those generated in the European Union and just slightly below US levels. In answering the question of how does deforestation affect the environment, you may discover that in fact, it also has a direct impact on the human population. It also wipes out biodiversity: More than half of the worlds plant and animal species live in tropical rainforests. Obviously, this is the biggest effect of soil erosion. When does spring start? By most accounts, deforestation in tropical rainforests adds more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere than the sum total of cars and trucks on the worlds roads. Such processes arent limited to tropical diseases. We dont get much ice here in Lawrenceville, GA, but for those that do, the concept is the same as water. Many factors related to cutting down trees contribute to driving species to extinction. Populations located in the proximity of tropical forests are mostly impacted by the worsening trend. This, in turn, contributes to destroying forests, intensifying deforestation even more. The breakdown of the natural chain of life was so starkly apparent to Floridians that it became a battleground in the midterm elections. There is also the imminent danger of disease caused by deforestation. From logging, agricultural production and other economic activities, deforestation adds more atmospheric CO2 than the sum total of cars and trucks on the world's roads, Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that cutting and burning trees adds more global warming pollution to the atmosphere than all the cars and trucks in the world combined? Mitchell Vale, Houston. In 2014, for example, the Ebola virus killed over 11,000 people in West Africa after fruit bats transmitted the disease to a toddler who was playing near trees where bats were roosting. And consumers can help stop it. To reduce climate change pollution produced by our current dependence on fossil fuels, renewable energy is our only economic long-term option. Water is very effective at doing work. If tropical deforestation were a country, according to the World Resources Institute, it would rank third in carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, behind China and the U.S. Can Cell Phones Help Save Rain Forests? Thanks for reading Scientific American. Deforestation refers to the intentional clearing of forest lands for urban expansion, cattle farming, agricultural cropland, and other human purposes. WebFlorida, United States Deforestation Rates & Statistics | GFW United States Florida Select a region In 2010, Florida had 5.94Mha of natural forest, extending over 49% of its land Aside from their contribution to the water flow, trees help the land retain water and sustain forest life by supplying the soil with rich nutrients. deforestation, the clearing or thinning of forests by humans. Forests around the world are home to more than, 80% of all terrestrial animal, plant, and insect species. The main effect of deforestation on animals and plants is the loss of their habitat. The South American rainforest, for example, influences regional and perhaps Some is caused by a combination of human and natural factors like wildfires and overgrazing, which may prevent the growth of young trees. While some of them move into areas occupied by other tribes, straining the lands resources, others are forced to relocate to urban settings and completely change their way of living. Logging operations, which provide the worlds wood and paper products, also fell countless trees each year. Malariawhich kills over a million annually due to infection by Plasmodium parasites transmitted by mosquitoeshas long been suspected of going hand in hand with deforestation.
, The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Thats like losing an area the size of Portugal every two years. Not long after the bats settled on trees in Malaysian orchards, pigs around them started to fall sickpresumably after eating fallen fruit the bats had nibbled onas did local pig farmers. Through land erosion, the soil is depleted of its nutrients, a huge source of nourishment for animals and plants. , Loss of Topsoil. Forests are also cut as a result of growing urban sprawl as land is developed for homes. Over time, that adds up, outweighing the profits that could be gained by cutting forests down and making a compelling financial argument to leave some forests standing, Daszak says. When these resources are lost, animals become weaker, more vulnerable to diseases and often succumb to starvation. There are some 250 million people who live in forest and savannah areas and depend on them for subsistence and incomemany of them among the worlds rural poor. Eighty percent of Earths land animals and plants live in forests, and deforestation threatens species including the orangutan, Sumatran tiger, and many species of birds. Trees and their roots provide the soil with an anchor, as well as shelter from the wind and rain. What is deforestation? Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? According to One Tree Planted, the top five are: Industrial agriculture (Meat production) Timber logging Mining Expansion and infrastructure Climate change 75% of the US Virgin Forests Have Been Destroyed by the US Itself in the 1600s. It feels like more has happened in the past few months than in the past 25 years, said Eric Eikenberg, the chief executive of the Everglades Foundation. But in Sabah, a part of Malaysian Borneo, malaria outbreaks also occur in tandem with bursts of forest clearing for palm oil and other plantations. In the South Asian Monsoon region, the reduction in rainfall is even higher, with around, Aside from their contribution to the water flow, trees help the land retain water and sustain forest life by supplying the soil with rich nutrients. Climate change has accelerated the rate of ice loss across the continent.One possible indirect consequence of deforestation is the spread of diseases, including those originating from birds, such as avian flu. In heavily deforested areas, soil erosion and nutrient runoff are common after a rainfall. All Rights Reserved. But we shouldnt be sitting on our hands, Price said. Deforestation refers to the decrease in forest areas across the world that are lost for other uses such as agricultural croplands, urbanization, or mining activities. Eco-friendly burial alternatives, explained. A National Geographic team has made the first ascent of the remote Mount Michael, looking for a lava lake in the volcanos crater. A mans world? Figure 1: Tropical primary forest loss between 2002 and 2020. I am concerned about whats going to happen with transmission following the end of the fires, MacDonald says. Photograph by Paul Nicklen, Nat Geo Image Collection. Soil in deforested areas is exposed to more sunlight, which increases the soil temperature and oxidizes the carbon in the soil to carbon dioxide. The main cause of man-made erosion is agriculture, followed by construction and mining. How does human activities cause soil erosion? Farming, grazing of livestock, mining, and drilling combined account for more than half of all deforestation. Malariawhich kills over a million annually due to infection by Plasmodium parasites transmitted by mosquitoeshas long been suspected of going Ecohealth Alliance researchers have proposed that containing diseases could be considered a new ecosystem service, that is, a benefit that humans freely gain from natural ecosystems, just like carbon storage and pollination. Can we bring a species back from the brink? Indigenous communities who live in forests and depend on them to sustain their life bear the brunt of impacts from deforestation. But humans can become unwitting hosts for pathogens when they venture into or change forest habitat. Trees are known for their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. Statistics show that deforestation in the tropics, reduces precipitation over the Amazon by around 10%, , or 138 millimeter, every year. Removing plants removes the stabilizing effects of the roots on the soil. Figure 1: Tropical primary forest loss between 2002 and 2020. In 2021, it lost 1.71Mha of natural forest, equivalent to 775Mt of CO emissions. What are the reasons behind deforestation? Long COVID patients turn to unproven treatments, Why evenings can be harder on people with dementia, This disease often goes under-diagnosedunless youre white, This sacred site could be Georgias first national park, See glow-in-the-dark mushrooms in Brazils other rainforest, 9 things to know about Holi, Indias most colorful festival, Anyone can discover a fossil on this beach. Greatly accelerated by human activities since 1960, deforestation has been negatively affecting natural ecosystems, biodiversity, and the climate. For example, starting in 2017, the government of New Zealand sought to plant more than 100 million trees per year within its borders, but perhaps the most ambitious replanting project took place in India on a single day in 2017, when citizens planted some 66 million trees. A direct link. Scott has a biochemistry degree from UCSB with research experience and has a passion for science as well as writing. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. The South American rainforest, for example, influences regional and perhaps even global water cycles, and it's key to the water supply in Brazilian cities and neighboring countries. In Malaysia and Indonesia, forests are cut down to make way for producing palm oil, which can be found in everything from shampoo to saltine crackers. Deforestation also increases the risk of uncontrollable wildfires because of humans burning vegetation. On average, they found that the Malaysian government spends around $5,000 to treat each new malaria patient in the regionin some areas much more than they spend on malaria control, Zambrana-Torrelio says. Can we bring a species back from the brink?, Video Story, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. The groundbreaking promise of cellular housekeeping. All of these factors disrupt a river ecosystem because the species that live in the stream have adapted to conditions before the deforestation and may be negatively impacted by the sudden changes. Wildlife habitat has declined and even disappeared during the past 100 years as natural lands were converted to agriculture, range lands, and expanding urban areas. They range from rainforests that are hot and wet year-round to forests that are merely humid and moist, to those in which trees in varying proportions lose their leaves in the dry season, and to dry open woodlands. Which is worse deforestation or desertification? Dead fish in Florida following the 2018 toxic red tide. Furthermore, many animal species are heavily reliant on specific plants and their fruits for food sources. Water is the most common cause of soil erosion. Forests cover about 30 percent of the planet's land mass, but humans are cutting them down, clearing these essential habitats on a massive scale. So how does deforestation affect the environment and what threats does it pose to living species? Unauthorized use is prohibited. Statistics show that deforestation in the tropics reduces precipitation over the Amazon by around 10%, or 138 millimeter, every year. Indeed, millions of people living in these areas depend almost entirely on agriculture and are thus extremely vulnerable to the impact of deforestation on food security, struggling to grow enough food and prevent crops from damage. This research is the first to show how we can predict and avoid spillovers through monitoring and maintaining wildlife habitats. We quantified the effect of human population growth and development on rates of deforestation and analyzed the relationship between these causal factors in the 1980s and 1990s. Laden with chemicals from nearby agriculture and warmed in temperatures that are climbing as the climate heats up, the water is the perfect spawning ground for toxic blue-green algal blooms. This led to the die-off of seagrass, crucial for local marine life, leaving the water matted with deceased vegetation. Without vegetation holding the soil in place, it is blown away and transported through wind and water erosion. This makes soil vulnerable to being washed away, and prone to erosion. Find out the causes, effects, and solutions. The closer humans are to animals, the greater the opportunity for zoonotic spillover, where a pathogen jumps from animal to human. Deforestation deprives the land of its cover, leaving the soil exposed to wind and rain. Its a numbers game: The more we degrade and clear forest habitats, the more likely it is that were going to find ourselves in these situations where epidemics of infectious diseases occur.. (Which tree planting projects should you support?). There, a number of diseases transmitted by a wide range of animalsfrom blood-sucking bugs to snailshave been linked to deforestation. Oliver Milman traveled to the Everglades as a guest of the Everglades Foundation. Virus-carrying rodents have also been spotted in deforested areas in Panama, Bolivia, and in Brazil. TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. The loss of clean water and biodiversity from all forests could have many other effects we cant foresee, touching even your morning cup of coffee. Without the nourishing freshwater, the ecosystem further south has become saltier and prone to disastrous events, such as happened in 2015, when pristine water turns into a muddy slush, causing fish to flee or die. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation. One last major effect of deforestation is its impact on food security through the loss of biodiversity. Deforestation represents one of the largest issues in global land use. Scientists just confirmed a 30-foot void first detected inside the monument years ago. The scientific consensus on deforestation is that it intensifies climate change at a dramatic rate. Please be respectful of copyright. All told, deforestation causes a triple-whammy of global warming: We lose a crucial ally in keeping excess carbon out of the atmosphere (and in slowing global warming), Even more emissions are created when felled trees release the carbon theyd been storing, and rot or burn on the forest floor, and The greatest deforestation is occurring in the tropics, where a wide variety of forests exists. They found that the effects increased with the more land included, with no effects discernible within 10 square miles of deforestation, but a While food availability for Indigenous tribes and animals that live in forests is reduced in the process of deforestation, its effects on weather patterns and soil degradation also drastically decrease agricultural productivity. Cattle or sheep pastures in North America or Europe are easy to identify, and they support large numbers of animals. The Global Forest Watch made it clear: protecting tropical rainforests is essential for achieving the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. When deforestation occurs, temperature variates more drastically from day to night and this extreme change can often prove fatal for many animal species. A severe slump in rainfall in 2015 meant salinity levels rocketed in the bay, with the water becoming twice as salty in the ocean. Its hard to generalize about mosquito ecology, which varies depending on species and region, Vittor stresses. Changing temperatures can alter which organisms can survive in an ecosystem. The reason that logging is so bad for the climate is that when trees are felled they release the carbon they are storing into the atmosphere, where it mingles with greenhouse gases from other sources and contributes to global warming accordingly. As those gases enter the atmosphere, global warming increases, a trend scientists now prefer to call climate change. It was the first known emergence of Nipah virus in people, which has since caused a string of recurrent outbreaks across Southeast Asia. About half of eastern North America lay deforested in the 1870s, almost all of it having been deforested at least once since European colonization in the early 1600s. Additionally, significant areas are planted as monotypic plantations for lumber or paper production. To answer the question of how deforestation affects the environment, it is important to look at why humans need forests in the first place. The dead water sort of moves around the bay and you think Ive just gotta get out of here.. To learn about the history of habitat loss in Florida, check out the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Report, Florida Vegetation 2003 and Land Use Change Between 1985-89 and 2003. However, the rapid destruction of forests is contributing to a decline in biodiversity never seen before. A major contributor to tropical deforestation is the practice of slash-and-burn agriculture, or swidden agriculture (see also shifting agriculture). Learn about conservation and open space in your state. A national park, a world heritage site, an international biosphere reserve, and were starving it of fresh water.. Although most of the areas cleared for crops and grazing represent permanent and continuing deforestation, deforestation can be transient. Plants create oxygen and absorb greenhouse gases. Destroying forests alters weather patterns, destroys habitats, and negatively affects rural communities, leading to food insecurity and causing irreversible damage to entire ecosystems. What is deforestation? But exhaustive hunting of tropical rainforest wildlife can reduce those species necessary to One of Earth's loneliest volcanoes holds an extraordinary secret. , mostly of Indian descent, divided into more than 400 indigenous tribes. Estimates of deforestation traditionally are based on the area of forest cleared for human use, including removal of the trees for wood products and for croplands and grazing lands. Updates? . Please select which sections you would like to print: Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Ecology, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, N.C., and Extraordinary Professor, Conservation Ecology Research Unit, University of Pretoria, Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Some of this replanting is done to replenish logging areas for future exploitation, and some replanting is done as a form of ecological restoration, with the reforested areas made into protected land. We are completely changing the structure of the forest, notes Carlos Zambrana-Torrelio, a disease ecologist at Ecohealth Alliance. The most significant effect of forest degradation is loss of habitat leading to species loss. It has been shown that the deforestation of the Amazon contributes to a. of nearly 25% in over half of the Amazon region and of a staggering 60% in a third of the area. The tourism industry, worth about $67bn annually to Florida, trembled. Voters got hyped up about red tide and said we want the government to act, said Rene Price, an expert in the hydrology of the Everglades at Florida International University. Between 2003 and 2015, on average, they estimated that a 10 percent yearly increase in forest loss led to a 3 percent rise in malaria cases. Old cells hang around as we age, doing damage to the body. Not according to biology or history. 2022 - 2023 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved For more information about the potential effects of habitat loss in Florida, visit the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Wildlife 2060 website. These diseases infect not only birds and vertebrates found in these ecosystems, but also any humans that are exposed to these insects, either in the wild or in nearby urban areas. The REDD program has channeled over $117 million in direct financial aid and educational support into national deforestation reduction efforts in 44 developing countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America since its 2008 inception. But its hard to convince the poor residents of the Amazon basin and other tropical regions of the world to stop cutting down trees when the forests are still worth more dead than alive. As trees are cut down and burnt, the carbon they contain is released into the atmosphere. DeSantis backed the plan and recently penned a letter to Trump, alongside Florida senators Scott and Marco Rubio, to ask for funding. Small-scale farmers clear forests by burning them and then grow crops in the soils fertilized by the ashes. That disruption leads to more extreme temperature swings that can be harmful to plants and animals. Loggers, some of them acting illegally, also build roads to access more and more remote forestswhich leads to further deforestation. Deforestation is the clearing of forests to obtain lumber and provide space for either agricultural zones or urban development. What if we could clean them out? , Water. Scientists just confirmed a 30-foot void first detected inside the monument years ago. There is political expediency in altering the current scenario where the water in Lake Okeechobee is discharged to the west and east, via the Caloosahatchee and the St Lucie rivers respectively, when it fills up and threatens to overflow. This water replenishes clouds and maintains rainfall. Any realistic plan to reduce global warming pollution sufficientlyand in timeto avoid dangerous consequences must rely in part on preserving tropical forests, reports EDF. https://www.britannica.com/science/deforestation, Academia - Deforestation: Causes, Effects and Control Strategies, LiveScience - Deforestation: Facts, Causes and Effects, deforestation - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), deforestation - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Mexican avocados shipped for Super Bowl named in complaint. In the practice of clear-cutting, all the trees are removed from the land, which completely destroys the forest. In recent decades, Floridas massive population growth and booming tourism industry have disturbed and fragmented many natural areas across the state. Through land erosion, the soil is depleted of its nutrients, a huge source of nourishment for animals and plants. Cutting down trees can disrupt the cycle by decreasing precipitation and affecting river flow and water volume. , Excessive Use of Fertilizers and Pesticides. Where humans once used sticks and stones, they have since developed technology that dramatically accelerated the speed of erosion, Wilkinson said. Brazil is among the countries embracing REDD among other efforts to reduce carbon emissions. By donating us $100, $50 or subscribe to Boosting $10/month we can get this article and others in front of tens of thousands of specially targeted readers. The roughly 5,000-year-old human remains were found in graves from the Yamnaya culture, and the discovery may partially explain their rapid expansion throughout Europe. Populations located in the proximity of tropical forests are mostly impacted by the worsening trend. Now you cant see the bottom. 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. One of Earth's loneliest volcanoes holds an extraordinary secret. This isnt the time to give up.. Humans can contract Lassa virus when they come into contact with food or objects contaminated with feces or urine of virus-carrying rodents or bodily fluids of infected people. The Global Forest Watch made it clear: protecting tropical rainforests is essential. DeSantis has outlined a major plan to rescue the Everglades. Decades of often poisonous politics have pushed the Everglades, one of the largest and perhaps best-known wetlands in the world, down the path of entropy and potential collapse. Since the 1870s the regions forest cover has increased, though most of the trees are relatively young. When deforestation occurs, temperature variates more drastically from day to night and this extreme change can often prove fatal for many animal species. Its one of many infectious diseases usually confined to wildlife that have spilled over to people in areas undergoing rapid forest clearing. Heres the technology that helped scientists find itand what it may have been used for. One way some tropical countries are reducing deforestation is through participation in the United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) program. Image by, In addition to their role as carbon sinks, forests are a crucial component of the water cycle and have the all important function of preventing desertification. To answer the question of how deforestation affects the environment, it is important to look at why humans need forests in the first place. Over the past two decades, a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that deforestation, by triggering a complex cascade of events, creates the conditions for a range of deadly pathogenssuch as Nipah and Lassa viruses, and the parasites that cause malaria and Lyme diseaseto spread to people. The Amazon rainforest is home to over one million Indigenous people, mostly of Indian descent, divided into more than 400 indigenous tribes. But the consequences of Floridas century-long attempt to bend the environment to its will arent hard to find. Inversely, when bats native habitats were left intact, they stayed away from humans. The water here is shallow but still impenetrably murky, with the odd strand of seagrass floating by. Which travel companies promote harmful wildlife activities? , Cattle ranching and deforestation are strongest in Latin America. Without the transpiration of trees, deforested areas become drier. Explore our digital archive back to 1845, including articles by more than 150 Nobel Prize winners. The soil that provides nutrients for vegetation in ecosystems is also affected by deforestation. In the case of the Amazon rainforest, research shows that at least 80% of its trees would be needed in order to keep the hydrological cycle going. and over the past 12,000 years, nearly 50% of the worlds trees have been purposefully cleared by humans. for achieving the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe. Furthermore, many animal species are heavily reliant on specific plants and their fruits for food sources. as a consequence of the nearly 4 million square miles of forest that have been lost since the beginning of the 20th century. Forests, a vital component of life on Earth, cover approximately 31% of our planets land area. This targeted Boosting helps us to reach wider audiences aiming to convince the unconvinced, to inform the uninformed, to enlighten the dogmatic. Biodiversity is the number of species in a given ecosystem. The current rate of rainforest-loss generated emissions is nearly 25% higher than those generated in the European Union and just slightly below US levels. WebIn 2010, United States had 252Mha of natural forest, extending over 29% of its land area. Work in the late 1990s by Amy Vittor, an epidemiologist at the University of Floridas Emerging Pathogens Institute, and others, suggested a reason why. reducing carbon dioxide (CO 2) in the atmosphere. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Find out how a tribe in the Amazon is using old cell phones and machine learning to help save their forest home. Environmentalists are optimistic that the initial success of REDD in Brazil bodes well for reducing deforestation in other parts of the tropics as well.