Deforestation

Across the world, miles and miles of beautiful innocent green trees are being cut down every single day. The removal of these trees to make room for farmland, plants, factories, and more is called Deforestation, an issue that is becoming more and more serious as the years go on. Only about 30 percent of the world's land area is covered in forests, and every years woods the size of Panama are being cut down. If the current rate of deforestation remains the same, the world's rain forests could be completely gone in only 100 years. That may seem like a long long time but before you know it 100 years will have passed and there will be no more trees left on the earth.

The destruction of forests can have long lasting negative effects on our world. Lester LefKowitz/Getty Images

There are many reasons why our forests are being cut down, but the majority of them are related to one thing... Money. One of the biggest drivers of deforestation is agriculture. Many farmers cut down vast areas of forest to make room for planting crops and grazing livestock. Very often may small farmers cut down several acres to use the firewood to heat their house, and the land to grow food to feed their families. 

Loggers, which provide the world's wood and paper products, also cut a great number of trees down each year. They also build roads to access areas of woods that are deeper in the forest, which then leads to further deforestation. Deforestation has many negative effects on the environment. One dramatic impact it has is on the habitats of thousands of different species. About 70% of the Earth's land animal and plant population live in forests. Many of them simply can not survive the deforestation that is occurring in their area. Climate also is greatly effects by the aftermath of deforestation. Normally forest soils are very moist, but without protection from the sun and the shade the trees give off the soil dries out very quickly. Trees also help the water cycle a great deal by returning water vapor back into the air. Without trees to fill these roles, what was once beautiful forests filled with green trees will turn into dry desert-like areas. 

Not all deforestation is intentional. Some of it is caused by a mix of human and natural factors like forest fires. This often prevents the growth of young trees.

Forest fire in Southern California 

Above is a picture of a devastating forest fire that occurred in Southern California. This fire was caused by a human's careless actions. If people were just a little more careful, many big fires could be prevented. Removing the trees takes away the canopy of the forest, which blocks out the sun's rays during the day and keeps in heat at night. The disruption of this leads to temperature swings, which makes it easier for fires to occur, and can be harmful to plant and animal life. 

Trees also play a big role in absorbing greenhouse gasses that fill this Earth. These are the gases that pretty much fuel global warming. Fewer forests means more greenhouse gases entering our atmosphere, which increases the speed and severity of global warming.

The quickest solution to deforestation would be to simply stop cutting down trees. Even though deforestation rates have slowed down a little bit in some areas over the past couple of years, realistically this is very unlikely to occur. A better solution would be to stop all clear-cutting to protect the environment for many species and allow them to live together in peace. Also, the cutting that does occur should be balanced, and for every tree cut down a youth tree should be planted to replace it. If something is done, deforestation can be stopped and thousands of harmless innocent trees can be saved.

References:

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-overview/

http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/deforest/deforest.html