Deforestation is defined as the removal of large quantities of trees by any method including but not limited to logging, clear cutting, the slash and burn process, or by wildfires. Shown below are visuals of the three purposeful methods of deforestation.
Deforestation first took place in an effort to clear grazing lands for livestock along. It also provided more room for agricultural purposes. However, the purpose for deforestation has majorly expanded beyond just clearing space for livestock and agriculture. Forests are being destroyed to make room for residential housing, parking lots, public buildings, and much more. These efforts to further industrialize the landscape are not where the new purposes for deforestation conclude; in some cases, deforestation only takes place to harvest the wood gathered from the forest and the bare land of stumps is not utilized any further.
With the mass destruction of trees comes many consequences, but there are two major ecological consequences to focus on: habitat loss and photosynthesis reduction.
Trees are important because they provide homes and habitats to many species of animals. According to the International Union of the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) the heavy losses of forests full of trees that the globe as experienced has resulted in 665 species going completely extinct or no longer exist in the wild. If this continues, it could cause the risk of many other species becoming endangered. In fact, according to Earth.com, tropical habitats are called home by over 50% of the animal species; the exact number is close to 63%. This adds up to 33,000 different animals and of those 33,000 different animals, 72% of the globe's bird population, 76% of the amphibian population and 42% of the globe amphibian population live within the tropics. This means that deforestation threatens the existence of over half of the animals that live on the planet.
The forests are sanctuaries for the species living there; however, the resources that the forests have to offer are viewed by corporate businesses only as opportunities for profit. Considering the strength of powerful clearing machines, these animals are defenseless. The animals do not have the means to protect their homes from these invaders so it is important to take action since we have the ability to do so.
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This illustration is an original piece created by a student at Delta College to illustrate the serious toll that deforestation has taken on different animal species.
Trees convert carbon dioxide into oxygen for plants, animals, and humans to breathe through a process called photosynthesis. Therefore, when masses of forests are destroyed, living organisms suffer the loss of major contributors to the clean oxygen in the air. This method of air purification is essential to the existence of all living things that utilize the oxygen that plants produce; therefore, trees need to remain plentiful and abundant in order to provide this essential resource.
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To understand this diagram, it is important to note that one hectare is equivalent to 2.47 acres. To break this measurement down further, one acre of land is large enough to plant 41 fruit trees.
Within the last 300 years, there has been an alarmingly increased rate of deforestation. Beginning with the 1700s to the 1850s 19 million hectare of forests were being cleared every ten years. Then from the 1850s up until 1920s the losses were at a much more staggering rate increasing by 50% to 30 million hectares per decade.
The 1900s was when the call for deforestation really started booming and from 1920s to the 1980s there were extreme losses at 120 million hectares per decade. This has since decreased to only 47 million hectares loss in the past decade. Still the amount of deforestation occurring has accumulated up to over 1.5 times the size of the United States! The number of replanted forests does not even begin to recover what has been lost.
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https://ourworldindata.org/deforestation
As shown in the graph above, not all deforestation is at the fault of humans. Wildfires do engulf some of the forests around the globe but this only makes up for a minimal 23% of forest losses. There is a hidden pattern within these graphs and that is the fact that most of deforestation happens in the tropics. Lives are at stake and that is being swept under the rug, hello! Wake up, our lives are at stake too if the world becomes uninhabitable by animals it will one day be uninhabitable by our own species as well.
Everyone can help to prevent deforestation. There needs to be a collective effort to combat deforestation if any progress is going to be made. Here are some ways to join the fight.
https://therevolutionmovie.com/index.php/change-the-world/be-a-conservationist/deforestation/
Even though it is not possible to undo all of the damage that has been done in the realm of deforestation. We can still take measures to ensure that no further harm is done. After all, living things can’t breathe poison air; therefore, without trees, living things cannot survive. People overuse trees without considering the consequences because of the versatility of such a resource. For a final call to action here is a quote from Theodore Roosevelt (1941)
"We are consuming our forests three times faster than they are being reproduced. Some of the richest timber lands of this continent have already been destroyed, and not replaced, and other vast areas are on the verge of destruction. Yet forests, unlike mines, can be so handled as to yield the best results of use, without exhaustion, just like grain fields."
There is hope for the future of our forests. Will you join the fight to ensure habitats and clean air for everyone?
