Effects of deforestation Climate imbalance and climate change
Deforestation also affects the climate in many ways. Forests are the lungs of our planet. Trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen and water vapor into the air, and therefore tropical rainforests are extremely humid.
Trees provide shade that keeps the soil moist. All this is threatened by the absence of trees. This creates instability in atmospheric temperatures and colder climates, which make conditions more difficult for the environment, leading to climate change.
When a forest is cut down, moisture levels drop, causing any remaining plants to dry out. Desiccation of tropical rainforests increases fire damage, which quickly destroys forests and harms humans as well as wildlife. Forests and climate are inextricably linked. Forest loss and degradation are both a cause and a consequence of our changing climate. At the same time, deforestation is self-sustaining.
Therefore, these events are dangerous and further stimulate deforestation. Increase in global warming
Trees have played an important role in controlling global warming. Trees use greenhouse gases to balance the atmosphere. With continued deforestation, the proportion of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased, adding to our global warming concern.
Increase in greenhouse gas emissions
Forests help reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other toxic greenhouse gases. However, when they are cut, burned or otherwise mined, they become a source of carbon.
Clay soil
Trees are also very important to our local water cycles as they return water vapor to the atmosphere. As rainwater is absorbed by the soil, the soil becomes moist.
Without trees, erosion often occurs, dragging the soil into nearby streams and rivers. Forests act as nature’s water purification facilities. Soil erosion exposes soil to pollutants that leach into water supplies and harm the quality of our drinking water
The flood
When it rains, trees absorb and store large amounts of water with the help of their roots. When they are cut, water flow is disturbed and the soil loses its ability to hold water. This causes floods in some areas and droughts in others.
Deforestation and habitat loss
Various species of animals have been lost due to large-scale cutting of trees. They lose their habitat and are also forced to move to a new location. Many of them are even becoming extinct.
Our world has lost countless plant and animal species in the last few decades. A study by the Brazilian Amazon estimates that 90 percent of the forecast will occur within the next 40 years.
Acidic oceans
Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to deforestation and burning fossil fuels are making our oceans more acidic. Since the Industrial Revolution, coasts have already become 30 percent more acidic, putting marine species and ecosystems at extreme risk.
Decrease in quality of life
Millions of people worldwide depend on forests for hunting, small-scale agriculture, gathering and medicine. Tropical forests contain materials that we use every day, such as latex, mushrooms, fruits, nuts, natural oils and resins.
Deforestation is affecting the lives of millions of people. . In Brazil, poor people were pulled from their villages at gunpoint into soybean fields, where they were harassed and forced to work in inhumane conditions.
Food insecurity in the future
Deforestation for food can lead to food insecurity in the future. Currently, 52% of all land used for food production is affected by moderate or severe soil erosion. In the long run, a lack of fertile soil can result in low yields and food insecurity.
Decreased biodiversity
Deforestation causes massive loss of biodiversity. About 80% of the world’s biodiversity is found in tropical rainforests. Forests are not only for forest life. They provide accommodation but also support medical care.
The forest serves as an important habitat for the conservation of various species. It also destroys the microbial community responsible for producing clean water, removing pollutants and recycling nutrients.
