Deforestation refers to the rapid cutting down of trees and not replacing the trees that have been cut down. The forests in the world continue to disappear at an alarming rate. Since 1950, one-fifth of the world’s forests has been cleared. 55 percent of the world’s 30 to 40 million hectares of rainforest have been removed.
Causes of deforestation:
- Increase in population
- As population is increasing, more land is needed in order to build houses, building, roads and factories.
- Land is cleared to feed growing number of population. Land is used for agriculture and cattle-raising. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Chang, the major cause of deforestation is agriculture.
- Commercial logging – trees are cut in order to satisfy people’s wants. These woods such as meranti, mahogany, teak, ebony are used for making furniture. Paper making also lead to deforestation. Wood is an important fuel resource for many people in the developing countries. For example: coal. They use this fuel for firewood and cooking.
- Economic development lead to deforastation, for example when forests are cleared for mining activities
Effect of deforestation:
- Global Warming - forest plays an important roles in purifying the air. Green house gases such as carbon dioxide are taken by the forest and release oxygen, which are needed by all of the libing things, as a result from photosynthesis. As the deforestation takes place, the carbon dioxide are increasing as well as other harmful gases. These also result in ozone depletion.
- Forest act as a water cycle, trees in the forest extract groundwater and release it into the atmosphere. When the forest is cleared, the water is no longer evaporated to the atmosphere resulting in much drier climate and reduce atmosphere moisture.
- Tropical rainforests produce 30% of the earth's fresh water. without it, the world will be lack of fresh water.
- Soil erosion - The loose soil are washed away by heavy rains causing muddy water and choking the river plant and fish. Soil erosion occurs as the roots which bind the soil are removed by deforestation. These can also lead to desertification, in which the land become dry and arid.
- Deforestation threatens the existence of native people. In the world, tropical forests are home to many native people who have developed and adapted to their unique culture in the forest. Because of deforestation, their culture cannot be maintained as the resources from the forest are no longer available.
- Forest, especially tropical rainforestm are home to 80% of the plant and animal species. Deforestation result in declines in biodiversity. Plant which are potential uses in medicine, agriculture and factories are no longer available. Deforestation leads to a mass extinction. It has been estimated that 137 plant and animal species are lost every day due to deforestation.
- Reforestation - Many country, especially in East asian country, are now starting practising reforestation and afforestation, that is, restoring an existing forests which have been removed because of deforestation. It can recover the ecosystem and habitat
- Farming - Practising new methods to farm more intensively, such as high-yield hybrid crops, hydroponics and aeroponics farming. These method doesn't need large land to produce a large yield. With hydroponics and aeroponics farming, the plants are packed closely so that yields per unit area is greater than those in soil cultivation.
Many people are living in the east coast of Brazil. as a result, Amazon basin are cleared for growing crops and rearing cattle.
In june 1999, the Brazilian satellite research institute reported that the area cleared by deforestation was about 14% of the rainforest. This has led to soil erosion as rains carried the soil away into the rivers, resulting muddy water. Native people who are used to drinking the water are now cannot depend anymore on the river. The life of plant and fish are also destroyed.
Amazon basin which are known as a natural habitat for most of animal and plant species are cleared. Deforestation lead to a mass extinction of plant and animal. Scientists are concerned as they are the resource of medicine and genetic cloning.
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