Deforestation

Deforestation

Introduction

Forest is an important source for satisfying people's demands and needs. Thus, undoubtedly people would try to exploit forest resources. This process of exploiting forest is called deforestation. The clearance of forest done by the human beings in order to meet their needs is known as deforestation. 


In other words, deforestation is the process of clearing the forest by cutting down the trees for fulfilling different demands. Forest has a vital role in meeting people's needs. Therefore people usually cut down the trees of the forest without having proper knowledge. 

Deforestation can result to desertification. Forest is the main source of energy, raw materials, fodder, animal habitat, tourism and so on. These sources also provide the human beings some of their basic needs. People who are unemployed, take cutting trees as employment opportunities. And also the weak policies, rules and regulations of government results in deforestation.

Definition

Deforestation is the clearing of trees without the intent of replanting or reestablishing a stand of trees. Learn reasons for deforestation and discover the consequences of this process in all forests, including tropical forests.

Meaning

Deforestation, clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use. Tropical rainforests is where the most concentrated deforestation occurs.^[2] Almost 30% of the world is covered by forests, excluding water mass

In temperate mesic climates, natural regeneration of forest stands often will not occur in the absence of disturbance, whether natural or anthropogenic Furthermore, biodiversity after regeneration harvest often mimics that found after natural disturbance, including biodiversity loss after naturally occurring rainforest destruction.

Advantages:

1.       Deforestation provides the materials for various industries, such as logs for the logging industry and trees for the paper industry. The forest products industry is a large part of the economy in both developed and developing countries.

2.       It opens more job opportunities for people  in the lumber industry besides Wood cutters , there are those who work in processing plants to make glue from wood sap, process pulp into paper, and others.  

3.       Cutting down trees provides charcoal, a source of energy.

4.       For every patch of forest cut down, arable land becomes available for farmers.

5.       The land can be used as an area to place urban living sites like apartments, houses, and buildings.

Disadvantages:

1.       Deforestation destroys the habitats of millions of species of plants and animals that will need the areas of forest to survive. Thus, it may lead to the extinction of these species, causing havoc in the biological food chains and the delicate balance of the ecosystem of these areas.

2.       Deforestation leaves the soil bare to erosion and leaching (the depletion of nutrients in the soil). Thus, over time the soil will lose its fertility, and eventually desertification may occur in the area that was once covered by trees.

3.       The removal of trees adds to the high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as trees are needed to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

4.        Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, and when there is too much of it global warming results.

5.       When there are more carbon monoxide atoms going to the atmosphere, the volume of oxygen would decline. Such is the case of ozone depletion.

Conclusion

Thus, deforestation is an important issue to be discussed. It has adverse effects on each living beings' life. Deforestation has become a huge concern in today's life as there has been a rise in the decline of forests. Trees are cut down in order to manufacture paper products as well as for livestock farming and so on.

In order to feed the ever increasing population of the Earth, trees and forests are converted to farm lands. This has become a threat to the world and it has been seen that rates of decline in the forests are increasing at a rapid rate. This has led the planet to warm up and leading to high temperatures. This cycle would continue for the following years to come unless necessary steps are taken to prevent deforestation. Deforestation has caused fewer trees to grow. It has also gone a long way in eliminating valuable ecosystems in the planet.

If major steps towards a forestation are not taken, then even the great adaptability of human beings may not be enough to cope up with the harsh climate of the future. Deforestation does have solutions. It's just that the people must step forward. The safe keeping of our precious planet lies with each and every member of its human population. We are the ones accountable for our actions even though it is ourselves we are accountable too.

Ways to stop deforestation

One easy way to combat deforestation is to plant a tree. But you can take it one step further by making sure the choices you make at home, at the store, at work, and on the menu don’t contribute to the problem. Here’s what you can do about deforestation.

1.     Plant a tree.

2.     Go paperless.

3.     Recycle and buy recycled products.

4.     Look for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification on wood and wood products.

5.     Eat vegetarian meals as often as possible.