Mourning Wood

Deforestation has a number of effects on our environment, all of which we should be more aware of — here’s what they are and how we can combat them.

Deforestation is defined as the action of clearing a wide area of trees.

In a much more broad sense, deforestation occurs as trees are cut down or lost in bulk due to natural disasters or human influence.

There is a multitude of magnitudes at which deforestation can occur, but they seem to happen most often in larger forests or farmland.

Deforestation has a negative effect on ecosystems, biodiversity, and the climate.

There are various causes for deforestation. Among these, the most popular are agricultural expansion, wood extraction, and modern-day urbanization.

Statistically, 48% of deforestation is due to subsistence agriculture. Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers use smaller scale patches of land in order to farm their crops. In doing so, many trees are cut down in order to facilitate the process of getting the land ready for crops.

Commercial agriculture also contributes to around 32% of deforestation. Commercial agriculture is the process in which large amounts of land are excavated in order to make room for farmland.

Climate change also accounts for around 23% of deforestation. Wildfires in forests can contribute to a major amount of deforestation if not handled quickly and efficiently.

There are many other smaller factors that contribute greatly to global warming, but these are some of the major causes.

Deforestation can occur as a cause of global warming, but can also contribute to global warming.

A cut down on trees can cause a sharp increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It is believed that deforestation can account for up to 20% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Additionally, deforestation can severely disrupt ecosystems, especially those with organisms that inhabit very specific regions. Animals losing their natural habitats due to deforestation can suffer endangerment and even extinction in very extreme cases.

There are many ways for us to fight against deforestation.

We should try to value our trees and be more aware of things we can do in order to facilitate tree planting.

If we were to cut down on meat consumption and farming of animals, then we would have more space to combat deforestation.

It is important for us to be aware of the effect that we have on the environment, and something as small as supporting organizations such as Danone, Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, and Nestle that seek to better the forest or plant trees can make all the difference in our fight against deforestation.