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There was a time where forests covered the earth, however as the human population grew and industrialized, the area forests covered decreased severely. The depletion of forests and trees is called deforestation. Deforestation is the cutting down or clearing of forests. It’s the action a human takes to remove forests from the planet, by their own hand. Deforestation occurs when people destroy forestry to change the land into farms, palm oil plantation or new settlement. People use the wood from the trees as material to make buildings, or to burn for heat. Deforestation has been happening for years, however recently the area of forests being destroyed has grown enormously. This greatly affects the environment in many ways. It is estimated that around 1.3 million square kilometers of land is deforested every 10 years. What’s even more concerning is that half of these forests cut down are primary forests. It is possible for some areas to recover from all this damage, but it is highly unlikely and takes many years to do so.
Deforestation causes many negative impacts, including, loss of habitat, increased greenhouse gases, water in the atmosphere, soil erosion and flooding and destruction of homelands. One of the most horrific outcomes of deforestation is the loss of plant and animal species. Around 70% of land animals and plant species live in forests. These are the very forests which are being cut down. Deforestation doesn’t only endanger species we know of, but ones that are still undiscovered. Following the loss of habitat, when a great number of trees are deforested it releases more harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Forests store carbon dioxide from the air helping to stop climate change. Deforested places are unable to do this, meaning more carbon is released into the air. Without forests, soil washes and erodes away, causing damage to the land, resulting in farmers having to move. Deforestation does not only effect animals, and plants but indigenous communities. With large areas of forests being cleared each year indigenous communities are running out of places to live safely. This is one of the most inhuman acts of deforestation.
Deforestation impacts entire ecosystems, which is extremely dangerous. It effects both abiotic and biotic factors. Impacts on abiotic factors include air quality changes, increased soil erosion, water quality decreasing, and temperature changing. Global air quality has been greatly impacted because of deforestation. When trees release water vapor into the air it effects the temperature of the atmosphere. For example if the atmospheric temperature was to rise it would cause heatwaves across large masses resulting in many ilnesses. The warmer temperature could also cause change in weather patterns snow and ice, oceans and plants and animals. Another factor is that with fewer trees to “clean” the air, more emissions would rise, affecting the air which we all breathe. Soil erosion although a natural process, with deforestation it doubles the pace at which it occures. Plants and trees are a natural barricade to decrease the rate which water runs off the land. To prevent water from flowing away roots bind the soil. With the absence of vegetation, it causes the soil to erode away at a faster pace than would have naturally occurred otherwise. In water sources like rivers or lakes the water quality may reduce, or the temperature of the water could change. The most common biotic factors affected from deforestation are plants in general. Now when thinking of deforestation for most, straight away the mind thinks of trees and just trees, but many other plants are affected as well. It kills off most to all organisms living in that area including almost all the animals, having lost their habitat, food source, water and shelter. This leaves the animals at an unfair advantage to live.
Ending deforestation is the best chance to preserve wildlife, help stop climate change and protect the rights of forest societies. There is much which can be done to stop or prevent deforestation. Every day over two million trees are being cut down to supply paper in just the US alone. Worldwide, its been found out that around 40% of timber is being used to make paper products. As the paper industry has such high demand for wood, it’s no surprise that many trees are being cut down. Reducing paper use decreases your contribution to the deforestation of forests. Palm oil is found in more than half the products in supermarkets. Although a small amount of palm oil being produced is sustainable, majority comes from cleared land. Malaysia and Indonesia is where a large percentage of the worlds palm oil manufacturing comes from, where great amounts of the virgin rainforest are rapidly being cleared. When shopping try to avoid products containing palm oil. This will reduce the consumer demand on the product. Just by taking these small steps you are helping to stop climate change and millions of plant and animals species out there being affected by deforestation.
It is true that we all need space to live, especially with the never-ending growth in population. There has been high demand for more space to be found for people to live. However, we need to understand that it is not humanly possible to live in a world without trees. Trees supply us with oxygen, they get rid of harmful carbon dioxide and are the home to the many animals we dearly love. With no trees on the Earth there would be no life, just another uninhabitable planet. Everyone should work together to help preserve forests from deforestation. Who knows there may even be a cure for the Corona virus or cancer waiting to be found.
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