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{{short description|Conversion of forest to non-forest for human use}}
{{Other uses}}
{{redirect|Forest clearing|a gap in a forest|Glade (geography)}}
] project in eastern ].]]
{{redirect|Deforest|other uses|DeForest (disambiguation)}}
'''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.<ref>. Dictionary of forestry.org (2008-07-29). Retrieved on 2011-05-15.</ref> Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use.
{{for|"deforestation" in computer science|Deforestation (computer science)}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
] in Brazil's ] state, 2016]]
] to make way for an ] plantation in 2007.]]
] state, 2009]]


'''Deforestation''' or '''forest clearance''' is the removal and destruction of a ] or stand of trees from land that is then ] to non-forest use.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725234528/http://dictionaryofforestry.org/dict/term/deforestation|date=25 July 2011}}. Dictionary of forestry.org (29 July 2008). Retrieved 15 May 2011.</ref> Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to ]s, ]es, or ] use. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by ]s at present.<ref>. Worldwildlife.org. Retrieved 13 November 2016.</ref> This is one-third less than the ] before the expansion of agriculture, with half of that loss occurring in the last century.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ritchie|first1=Hannah|author1-link=Hannah Ritchie |last2=Roser|first2=Max|author2-link=Max Roser |date=2021-02-09|title=Forests and Deforestation|url=https://ourworldindata.org/forest-area|journal=Our World in Data}}</ref> Between 15 million to 18 million ] of forest, an area the size of ], are destroyed every year. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute.<ref>{{cite web|title=On Water|url=https://www.eib.org/en/essays/on-water|access-date=2020-10-13|website=European Investment Bank|language=en}}</ref> Estimates vary widely as to the extent of deforestation in the ].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> In 2019, nearly a third of the overall tree cover loss, or 3.8 million hectares, occurred within humid tropical ]. These are areas of mature ] that are especially important for ] and ].<ref name="Guy-2020" /><ref name=":2" />
More than half of the animal and plant species in the world live in tropical forests.<ref name="Rainforest Facts">.</ref>
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<!--this para is about causes -->
The term ''deforestation'' is often misused to describe any activity where all trees in an area are removed.{{Failed verification|date=April 2012}}{{POV-statement|date=April 2012}} However in ]s, the ]{{Failed verification|date=April 2012}}—in conformance with ] practices—is correctly described as ''regeneration harvest''.<ref>. Dictionary of forestry.org (2008-08-14). Retrieved on 2011-05-15.</ref> In ]s, natural regeneration of forest stands often will not occur in the absence of disturbance, whether natural or anthropogenic.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Oliver, C.D. |title=Forest Development in North America following major disturbances|doi=10.1016/0378-1127(80)90013-4|journal= For. Ecol. Management |volume=3|year=1980|pages=153–168}}</ref> Furthermore, biodiversity after regeneration harvest often mimics that found after natural disturbance, including biodiversity loss after naturally occurring rainforest destruction.<ref name="SahneyBentonFalconLang 2010RainforestCollapse">{{cite journal|author= Sahney, S., Benton, M.J. & Falcon-Lang, H.J.|year=2010|title= Rainforest collapse triggered Pennsylvanian tetrapod diversification in Euramerica|journal=Geology|doi=10.1130/G31182.1|volume = 38|pages = 1079–1082|issue=12 }}</ref><ref>Patel-Weynand, Toral (2002) . The National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry, Washington DC</ref>
The direct cause of most deforestation is agriculture by far.<ref name="UNFCC-2007" /> More than 80% of deforestation was attributed to agriculture in 2018.<ref name="ScienceDaily-2018" /> Forests are being converted to plantations for ], ], ] and various other popular products.<ref name="WWF-2020" /> Livestock ] also drives deforestation. Further drivers are the ] (]), ] and ]. The ] are another cause via the increased risk of ]s (see ]).


<!--this para is about effects -->
Deforestation occurs for many reasons: trees are cut down to be used or sold as fuel (sometimes in the form of ]) or timber, while cleared land is used as ] for livestock, plantations of commodities and settlements. The removal of trees without sufficient ] has resulted in damage to ], ] loss and ]ity. It has adverse impacts on ] of atmospheric ]. Deforestation has also been used in ] to deprive an enemy of cover for its forces and also vital resources. A modern example of this was the use of ] by the United States military in Vietnam during the ]. Deforested regions typically incur significant adverse ] and frequently degrade into ].
Deforestation results in ] which in turn leads to ]. Deforestation also leads to ] of animals and plants, changes to the local climate, and displacement of ] who live in forests. Deforested regions often also suffer from other environmental problems such as ] and ].


<!--this para is about effects with regard to climate change -->
Disregard or ignorance of intrinsic value, lack of ascribed value, lax forest management and deficient environmental laws are some of the factors that allow deforestation to occur on a large scale. In many countries, deforestation, both naturally occurring and human induced, is an ongoing issue. Deforestation causes ], changes to climatic conditions, ], and displacement of populations as observed by current conditions and in the past through the fossil record.<ref name="SahneyBentonFalconLang 2010RainforestCollapse"/>
Another problem is that deforestation reduces the uptake of carbon dioxide (]) from the atmosphere. This reduces the potential of forests to assist with ]. The role of forests in capturing and storing carbon and mitigating climate change is also important for the agricultural sector.<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020">{{cite book|url=https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8985en|title=The State of the World's Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people – In brief|publisher=FAO & UNEP|year=2020|isbn=978-92-5-132707-4|location=Rome|doi=10.4060/ca8985en|s2cid=241416114}}</ref> The reason for this linkage is because the ] pose new risks to global ]s.<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020" />


Since 1990, it is estimated that some ] of forest have been lost through ] to other ]s, although the rate of deforestation has decreased over the past three decades. Between 2015 and 2020, the rate of deforestation was estimated at 10 million hectares per year, down from 16 million hectares per year in the 1990s. The area of primary forest worldwide has decreased by over 80 million hectares since 1990. More than 100 million hectares of forests are adversely affected by forest fires, pests, diseases, ], ] and adverse weather events.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The State of the World's Forests 2020. In brief – Forests, biodiversity and people|publisher=FAO & UNEP|isbn=978-92-5-132707-4|location=Rome|pages=9–10}}</ref>
Among countries with a per capita ] of at least US$4,600, net deforestation rates have ceased to increase.{{When|date=April 2012}}<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kauppi|first1=P. E.|last2=Ausubel|first2=J. H.|last3=Fang|first3=J.|last4=Mather|first4=A. S.|last5=Sedjo|first5=R. A.|last6=Waggoner|first6=P. E.|title=Returning forests analyzed with the forest identity|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=103|issue=46|year=2006|pmid=17101996|pmc=1635979|doi=10.1073/pnas.0608343103|pages=17574–9}}</ref><ref>, ''The New York Times'', April 20, 2009</ref>

== Definition ==
]
Deforestation is defined as the conversion of forest to other land uses (regardless of whether it is human-induced).<ref name="GFRA2020">{{cite web|title=Global Forest Resource Assessment 2020|url=http://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment/2020/en/|access-date=20 September 2020|website=www.fao.org|language=en}}</ref>

''Deforestation'' and ''forest area net change'' are not the same: the latter is the sum of all forest losses (deforestation) and all forest gains (forest expansion) in a given period. Net change, therefore, can be positive or negative, depending on whether gains exceed losses, or vice versa.<ref name="GFRA2020" />

== Current status by continent, region, country ==

]
]

The FAO estimates that the global forest carbon stock has decreased 0.9%, and tree cover 4.2% between 1990 and 2020.<ref name="FAO-2020">{{cite web|author = FAO|title= Global Forest Resources Assessment|url = http://www.fao.org/3/ca9825en/CA9825EN.pdf|year = 2020}}</ref>{{rp|16, 52}}
{|class="wikitable"
|+Changes in forest carbon stock by region<br/>Figures in gigatons<ref name="FAO-2020" />{{rp|52, table 43}}

!Region!!1990!!2020
|-
|Europe (including Russia)||style="text-align:right;"|158.7||style="text-align:right;"|172.4
|-
|North America||style="text-align:right;"|136.6||style="text-align:right;"|140.0
|-
|Africa||style="text-align:right;"|94.3||style="text-align:right;"|80.9
|-
|South and Southeast Asia combined||style="text-align:right;"|45.8||style="text-align:right;"|41.5
|-
|Oceania||style="text-align:right;"|33.4||style="text-align:right;"|33.1
|-
|Central America||style="text-align:right;"|5.0||style="text-align:right;"|4.1
|-
|South America||style="text-align:right;"|161.8||style="text-align:right;"|144.8
|}
As of 2019 there is still disagreement about whether the global forest is shrinking or not: "While above-ground biomass carbon stocks are estimated to be declining in the tropics, they are increasing globally due to increasing stocks in temperate and boreal forest.<ref>{{cite web|title=Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. Chapter 4. Land Degradation.|author=IPCC|date=2019a|url=https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/4/2019/11/07_Chapter-4.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220131010/https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/4/2019/11/07_Chapter-4.pdf|archive-date=2019-12-20|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|385}}

]—both naturally occurring<ref>{{Cite web|title=The causes of deforestation|url=http://www.eniscuola.net/en/argomento/rain-forest/deforestation/the-causes-of-deforestation/|access-date=2020-08-06|website=Eniscuola}}</ref> and ]—is an ongoing issue.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-11-24|title=The five: areas of deforestation|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/24/the-five-areas-of-deforestation-amazon-ethiopia-siberia-papua-south-sudan|access-date=2020-06-05|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> Between 2000 and 2012, {{convert|2.3|e6km2|mi2|abbr=off}} of forests around the world were cut down.<ref name="nature1"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022034531/http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/rainforests/rainforests-facts.xml|date=22 October 2015}}. ]. Retrieved 19 October 2015.</ref> Deforestation and forest degradation continue to take place at alarming rates, which contributes significantly to the ongoing ].<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020" />

] diet.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Poore|first1=J.|last2=Nemecek|first2=T.|title=Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers|journal=Science|date=1 June 2018|volume=360|issue=6392|pages=987–992|doi=10.1126/science.aaq0216|pmid=29853680|bibcode=2018Sci...360..987P|doi-access=free|issn=0036-8075 }}</ref>]]

Deforestation is more extreme in tropical and subtropical forests in emerging economies. More than half of all plant and land animal species in the world live in ]s.<ref name="Rainforest Facts"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022034531/http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/rainforests/rainforests-facts.xml|date=22 October 2015}}. Nature.org (1 November 2016). Retrieved 13 November 2016.</ref> As a result of deforestation, only {{convert|6.2|e6km2|e6mi2|abbr=off}} remain of the original {{convert|16|e6km2|e6mi2|abbr=off|sigfig=1}} of tropical rainforest that formerly covered the Earth.<ref name="nature1" /> More than 3.6 million hectares of virgin tropical forest was lost in 2018.<ref> 6 May 2019 Guardian </ref>

The global annual net loss of trees is estimated to be approximately 10 billion.<ref>{{cite news|date=2 September 2015|title=Earth has 3 trillion trees but they're falling at alarming rate|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-trees-idUSKCN0R21Z620150902|access-date=26 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Carrington|first1=Damian|date=4 July 2019|title=Tree planting 'has mind-blowing potential' to tackle climate crisis|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/04/planting-billions-trees-best-tackle-climate-crisis-scientists-canopy-emissions|access-date=26 May 2020|website=The Guardian}}</ref> According to the ] the global average annual deforested land in the 2015–2020 demi-decade was 10 million hectares and the average annual forest area net loss in the 2000–2010 decade was 4.7 million hectares.<ref name="GFRA2020" /> The world has lost 178 million ha of forest since 1990, which is an area about the size of Libya.<ref name="GFRA2020" />

An analysis of global deforestation patterns in 2021 showed that patterns of trade, production, and consumption drive deforestation rates in complex ways. While the location of deforestation can be mapped, it does not always match where the commodity is consumed. For example, consumption patterns in ] are estimated to cause an average loss of 3.9 trees per person per year. In other words, deforestation can be directly related to imports—for example, coffee.<ref>{{cite news|date=29 March 2021|title=Average westerner's eating habits lead to loss of four trees every year|language=en|work=the Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/29/average-westerners-eating-habits-lead-to-loss-of-four-trees-every-year|access-date=19 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hoang|first1=Nguyen Tien|last2=Kanemoto|first2=Keiichiro|date=29 March 2021|title=Mapping the deforestation footprint of nations reveals growing threat to tropical forests|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01417-z|journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution|language=en|volume=5|issue=6|pages=845–853|doi=10.1038/s41559-021-01417-z|issn=2397-334X|pmid=33782576|bibcode=2021NatEE...5..845H|s2cid=232420306|access-date=19 April 2021}}</ref>

In 2023, the ] reported a 9% decline in tropical primary forest loss compared to the previous year, with significant regional reductions in ] and ] overshadowed by increases elsewhere, leading to a 3.2% rise in global deforestation. Massive wildfires in ], exacerbated by ], contributed to a 24% increase in global tree cover loss, highlighting the ongoing threats to forests essential for ] and ]. Despite some progress, the overall trends in forest destruction and climate impacts remain off track.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Spring|first=Jake|date=April 4, 2024|editor-last=Dunham|editor-first=Will|title=Tropical forest loss eased in 2023 but threats remain, analysis shows|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/tropical-forest-loss-eased-2023-threats-remain-analysis-shows-2024-04-04/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&utm_term=040424&user_email=6bc715b3fd56b766900ace1f93bf9c8b38d3b44d9557f041acbc54ed318c154f|access-date=4 April 2024|website=www.reuters.com}}</ref>

The ] stated in 2022: “Over 420 million ha of forest were lost to deforestation from 1990 to 2020; more than 90% of that loss took place in tropical areas (high confidence), threatening biodiversity, environmental services, livelihoods of forest communities and resilience to climate shocks (high confidence).”<ref>Ometto, J.P., K. Kalaba, G.Z. Anshari, N. Chacón, A. Farrell, S.A. Halim, H. Neufeldt, and R. Sukumar, 2022: . In: . Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 2369–2410, doi:10.1017/9781009325844.024.</ref>

See also:
*]
** {{in title|deforestation in}}
** {{in title|deforestation of}}
** {{in title|land clearing in}}

===Rates of deforestation===
{{multiple image
|total_width = 450
|image1 = 1700- Tropical rainforest and woodland loss - Int'l Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP).svg
|caption1 = The period since 1950 has brought "the most rapid transformation of the human relationship with the natural world in the history of humankind".<ref name=IGBP_Steffen_2004>{{cite web|last1=Steffen|first1=Will|last2=Sanderson|first2=Angelina|last3=Tyson|first3=Peter|last4=Jäger|first4=Jill|last5=Matson|first5=Pamela|last6=Moore III|first6=Berrien|last7=Oldfield|first7=Frank|last8=Richardson|first8=Katherine|last9=Schellnhuber|first9=H. John|last10=Turner II|first10=B. L.|last11=Wasson|first11=Robert J.|display-authors=4|title=Global Change and the Climate System / A Planet Under Pressure|url=http://www.igbp.net/download/18.56b5e28e137d8d8c09380001694/1376383141875/SpringerIGBPSynthesisSteffenetal2004_web.pdf|publisher=International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319052247/http://www.igbp.net/download/18.56b5e28e137d8d8c09380001694/1376383141875/SpringerIGBPSynthesisSteffenetal2004_web.pdf|archive-date=19 March 2017|pages=131, 133|date=2004|quote=Fig. 3.67(j): loss of tropical rainforest and woodland, as estimated for tropical Africa, Latin America and South and Southeast Asia.|url-status=live}}</ref>
|image2= 8000 BCE+ Loss of forest and grassland to grazing and crops.svg|caption2= Through 2018, humans have reduced forest area by ~30% and grasslands/shrubs by ~68%, to make way for livestock grazing and crops for humans.<ref name=LandUseChange_8000BCE>{{cite web|title=Deforestation and Forest Loss / Humanity destroyed one third of the world's forests by expanding agricultural land|url=https://ourworldindata.org/deforestation|publisher=Our World in Data (OWID)|archive-url=https://archive.today/20221107180838/https://ourworldindata.org/deforestation|archive-date=7 November 2022|quote=Data: Historical data on forests from Williams (2003) – Deforesting the Earth. Historical data on agriculture from The History Database of Global Environment (HYDE). Modern data from the FAO|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
Global deforestation<ref>Duke Press policy studies / Global deforestation and the nineteenth-century world economy / edited by Richard P. Tucker and J. F. Richards</ref> sharply accelerated around 1852.<ref name="Wilson">], 2002, ''The Future of Life'', Vintage {{ISBN|0-679-76811-4}}.</ref><ref>, guardian.co.uk, 1 July 2008.</ref> As of 1947, the planet had {{convert|15|to|16|e6km2|e6mi2|abbr=unit}} of mature ]s,<ref name="worldbook">Maycock, Paul F. ''{{Dead link|date=November 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}''. WorldBookOnline.</ref> but by 2015, it was estimated that about half of these had been destroyed.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nunez|first=Christina|date=7 February 2019|title=Deforestation and Its Effect on the Planet|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117004102/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation/|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 January 2017|access-date=2020-06-02|website=National Geographic|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Rainforest Facts" /><ref name="Nielsen">Ron Nielsen, ''The Little Green Handbook: Seven Trends Shaping the Future of Our Planet'', Picador, New York (2006) {{ISBN|978-0-312-42581-4}}.</ref> Total land coverage by tropical rainforests decreased from 14% to 6%. Much of this loss happened between 1960 and 1990, when 20% of all tropical rainforests were destroyed. At this rate, extinction of such forests is projected to occur by the mid-21st century.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

In the early 2000s, some scientists predicted that unless significant measures (such as seeking out and protecting old growth forests that have not been disturbed)<ref name="worldbook" /> are taken on a worldwide basis, by 2030 there will only be 10% remaining,<ref name="Wilson" /><ref name="Nielsen" /> with another 10% ].<ref name="Wilson" /> 80% will have been lost, and with them hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable species.<ref name="Wilson" />

Estimates vary widely as to the extent of deforestation in the tropics.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f-LfXBOL_7sC&pg=PA270|title=Tropical Rainforests and Agroforests Under Global Change|publisher=Springer|year=2010|isbn=978-3-642-00492-6|editor=Teja Tscharntke|pages=270–271|editor2=Christoph Leuschner|editor3=Edzo Veldkamp|editor4=Heiko Faust|editor5=Edi Guhardja}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite report|url=https://www.ipcc.ch/report/land-use-land-use-change-and-forestry/|title=Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry|last1=Watson|first1=Robert T.|last2=Noble|first2=Ian R.|date=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|last3=Bolin|first3=Bert|last4=Ravindranath|first4=N. H.|last5=Verardo|first5=David J.|last6=Dokken|first6=David J.}}</ref> In 2019, the world lost nearly 12 million hectares of tree cover. Nearly a third of that loss, 3.8 million hectares, occurred within humid tropical primary forests, areas of mature rainforest that are especially important for biodiversity and carbon storage. This is equivalent to losing an area of primary forest the size of a football pitch every six seconds.<ref name="Guy-2020">{{Cite web|last1=Guy|first1=Jack|last2=Ehlinger|first2=Maija|date=2 June 2020|title=The world lost a football pitch-sized area of tropical forest every six seconds in 2019|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/world/tropical-forest-six-seconds-scli-intl/index.html|access-date=2020-06-02|website=CNN}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Weisse|first1=Mikaela|last2=Goldman|first2=Elizabeth Dow|date=2020-06-02|title=We Lost a Football Pitch of Primary Rainforest Every 6 Seconds in 2019|url=https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/06/global-tree-cover-loss-data-2019|language=en|access-date=2020-06-04|website=World Resources Institute}}</ref>

==== Rates of change ====
]
{{multiple image
|align = right
|direction = horizontal
|total_width = 450
|image1 = 20210331 Global tree cover loss - World Resources Institute.svg
|caption1 = The rate of global tree cover loss has approximately doubled since 2001, to an annual loss approaching an area the size of Italy.<ref name=Mongabay_WRI>{{cite news|last1=Butler|first1=Rhett A.|title=Global forest loss increases in 2020|url=https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/global-forest-loss-increases-in-2020-but-pandemics-impact-unclear/|work=Mongabay|date=31 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401022404/https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/global-forest-loss-increases-in-2020-but-pandemics-impact-unclear/|archive-date=1 April 2021|url-status=live}} ● Data from {{cite web |title=Indicators of Forest Extent / Forest Loss |url=https://research.wri.org/gfr/forest-extent-indicators/forest-loss |publisher=World Resources Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240527180607/https://research.wri.org/gfr/forest-extent-indicators/forest-loss |archive-date=27 May 2024 |date=4 April 2024 |url-status=live }} Chart in section titled "Annual rates of global tree cover loss have risen since 2000".</ref>
|image2 = 2002- Tropical primary forest loss - annual - World Resources Institute.svg
|caption2 = Loss of ] forest in the tropics has continued its upward trend, with fire-related losses contributing an increasing portion.<ref name=WRI_20220428>{{cite web|title=Forest Pulse: The Latest on the World's Forests|url=https://research.wri.org/gfr/latest-analysis-deforestation-trends|website=WRI.org|publisher=World Resources Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627150528/https://research.wri.org/gfr/latest-analysis-deforestation-trends|archive-date=27 June 2023|date=June 2023|url-status=live}} ● 2022 Global Forest Watch data quoted by {{cite news|last1=McGrath|first1=Matt|last2=Poynting|first2=Mark|title=Climate change: Deforestation surges despite pledges|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66013854|agency=BBC|date=27 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629065610/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66013854|archive-date=29 June 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

A 2002 analysis of satellite imagery suggested that the rate of deforestation in the humid tropics (approximately 5.8 million hectares per year) was roughly 23% lower than the most commonly quoted rates.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Achard|first1=F|last2=Eva|first2=H. D.|last3=Stibig|first3=H. J.|last4=Mayaux|first4=P|last5=Gallego|first5=J|last6=Richards|first6=T|last7=Malingreau|first7=J. P.|year=2002|title=Determination of deforestation rates of the world's humid tropical forests|url=http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC23428|journal=Science|volume=297|issue=5583|pages=999–1003|bibcode=2002Sci...297..999A|doi=10.1126/science.1070656|pmid=12169731|s2cid=46315941}}</ref> A 2005 report by the United Nations ] (FAO) estimated that although the Earth's total forest area continued to decrease at about 13 million hectares per year, the global rate of deforestation had been slowing.<ref name="pantropical">{{cite web|title=Pan-tropical Survey of Forest Cover Changes 1980–2000|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/y1997e/y1997e1f.htm|work=Forest Resources Assessment|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)|location=Rome, Italy}}</ref><ref>. FAO (16 March 2001). Retrieved 29 August 2010.</ref> On the other hand, a 2005 analysis of satellite images reveals that ] is twice as fast as scientists previously estimated.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jha|first=Alok|date=21 October 2005|title=Amazon rainforest vanishing at twice rate of previous estimates|newspaper=]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2005/oct/21/brazil.conservationandendangeredspecies}}</ref><ref>, csmonitor.com, 21 October 2005.</ref>

From 2010 to 2015, worldwide forest area decreased by 3.3 million ha per year, according to ]. During this five-year period, the biggest forest area loss occurred in the tropics, particularly in South America and Africa. Per capita forest area decline was also greatest in the tropics and subtropics but is occurring in every climatic domain (except in the temperate) as populations increase.<ref>FAO. 2016. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015. How are the world’s forests changing?</ref>

An estimated 420 million ha of forest has been lost worldwide through deforestation since 1990, but the rate of forest loss has declined substantially. In the most recent five-year period (2015–2020), the annual rate of deforestation was estimated at 10 million ha, down from 12 million ha in 2010–2015.<ref name="GFRA2020" />

{{multiple image
|align = right
|direction = horizontal
|total_width = 450
|image3 = 2021 Top ten countries for tropical primary forest loss - World Resources Institute.svg
|caption3 = Home to much of the ], Brazil's tropical ] forest loss greatly exceeds that of other countries.<ref name=WRI_20240404>● 2021 data: {{cite web|title=Forest Pulse: The Latest on the World's Forests|url=https://research.wri.org/gfr/latest-analysis-deforestation-trends |website=WRI.org |publisher=World Resources Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230627150528/https://research.wri.org/gfr/latest-analysis-deforestation-trends|archive-date=27 June 2023 |date=June 2023 |url-status=live}}<br>● 2022 and 2023 data: {{cite web |title=Forest Pulse: The Latest on the World's Forests |url=https://research.wri.org/gfr/latest-analysis-deforestation-trends |publisher=World Resources Institute / Global Forest Review |website=WRI.org |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240404205336/https://research.wri.org/gfr/latest-analysis-deforestation-trends |archive-date=4 April 2024 |date=4 April 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|image4 = 20220910 Amazon deforestation and degradation, by country - Amazon Watch.svg
|caption4 = Overall, 20% of the Amazon rainforest has been "transformed" (deforested) and another 6% has been "highly degraded", causing Amazon Watch to warn that the Amazonia is in the midst of a tipping point crisis.<ref name=AmazonWatch_202209>{{cite web|title=Amazon Against the Clock: A Regional Assessment on Where and How to Protect 80% by 2025|url=https://amazonwatch.org/assets/files/2022-amazonia-against-the-clock-executive-summary.pdf|website=Amazon Watch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220910025229/https://amazonwatch.org/assets/files/2022-amazonia-against-the-clock-executive-summary.pdf|archive-date=10 September 2022|page=8|date=September 2022|quote=Graphic 2: Current State of the Amazon by country, by percentage / Source: RAISG (Red Amazónica de Información Socioambiental Georreferenciada) Elaborated by authors.|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

Africa had the largest annual rate of net forest loss in 2010–2020, at 3.9 million ha, followed by South America, at 2.6 million ha. The rate of net forest loss has increased in Africa in each of the three decades since 1990. It has declined substantially in South America, however, to about half the rate in 2010–2020 compared with 2000–2010. Asia had the highest net gain of forest area in 2010–2020, followed by Oceania and Europe. Nevertheless, both Europe and Asia recorded substantially lower rates of net gain in 2010–2020 than in 2000–2010. Oceania experienced net losses of forest area in the decades 1990–2000 and 2000–2010.<ref name="GFRA2020" />

Some claim that rainforests are being destroyed at an ever-quickening pace.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025184730/http://www.worldwatch.org/node/4521|date=25 October 2008}}, ]</ref> The London-based Rainforest Foundation notes that "the UN figure is based on a definition of forest as being an area with as little as 10% actual tree cover, which would therefore include areas that are actually savanna-like ecosystems and badly damaged forests".<ref name="Butler">{{cite web|author=Butler, Rhett A.|date=16 November 2005|title=World deforestation rates and forest cover statistics, 2000–2005|url=http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1115-forests.html|work=mongabay.com}}</ref> Other critics of the FAO data point out that they do not distinguish between forest types,<ref>The fear is that highly diverse habitats, such as tropical rainforest, are vanishing at a faster rate that is partly masked by the slower deforestation of less biodiverse, dry, open forests. Because of this omission, the most harmful impacts of deforestation (such as habitat loss) could be increasing despite a possible decline in the global rate of deforestation.</ref> and that they are based largely on reporting from ] departments of individual countries,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Remote sensing versus self-reporting|url=http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0629-deforestation.html}}</ref> which do not take into account unofficial activities like illegal logging.<ref>The World Bank estimates that 80% of logging operations are illegal in ] and 42% in ], while in ], illegal logging accounts for 80% of all logging activities. (World Bank (2004). ''Forest Law Enforcement''.) (The Peruvian Environmental Law Society (2003). ''Case Study on the Development and Implementation of Guidelines for the Control of Illegal Logging with a View to Sustainable Forest Management in Peru''.)</ref> Despite these uncertainties, there is agreement that destruction of rainforests remains a significant environmental problem.

The rate of net forest loss declined from 7.8 million ha per year in the decade 1990–2000 to 5.2 million ha per year in 2000–2010 and 4.7 million ha per year in 2010–2020. The rate of decline of net forest loss slowed in the most recent decade due to a reduction in the rate of forest expansion.<ref name="GFRA2020" />

==== Reforestation and afforestation ====
{{Main|Reforestation|Afforestation}}

In many parts of the world, especially in East Asian countries, ] and ] are increasing the area of forested lands.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Foley|first1=J. A.|last2=Defries|first2=R|last3=Asner|first3=G. P.|last4=Barford|first4=C|last5=Bonan|first5=G|last6=Carpenter|first6=S. R.|last7=Chapin|first7=F. S.|last8=Coe|first8=M. T.|last9=Daily|first9=G. C.|last10=Gibbs|first10=H. K.|last11=Helkowski|first11=J. H.|last12=Holloway|first12=T|last13=Howard|first13=E. A.|last14=Kucharik|first14=C. J.|last15=Monfreda|first15=C|year=2005|title=Global Consequences of Land Use|url=http://rcin.org.pl/Content/31092|journal=Science|volume=309|issue=5734|pages=570–574|bibcode=2005Sci...309..570F|doi=10.1126/science.1111772|pmid=16040698|s2cid=5711915|last16=Patz|first16=J. A.|last17=Prentice|first17=I. C.|last18=Ramankutty|first18=N|last19=Snyder|first19=P. K.}}{{Dead link|date=September 2023|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> The amount of forest has increased in 22 of the world's 50 most forested nations. Asia as a whole gained 1 million ]s of forest between 2000 and 2005. Tropical forest in El Salvador expanded more than 20% between 1992 and 2001. Based on these trends, one study projects that global forestation will increase by 10%—an area the size of India—by 2050.<ref name="Owen">James Owen, . ''National Geographic News'', 13 November 2006.</ref> 36% of globally planted forest area is in ] – around 950,000 square kilometers. From those 87% are in China.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Abbasi|first1=Akane O.|last2=Tang|first2=Xiaolu|last3=Harris|first3=Nancy L.|last4=Goldman|first4=Elizabeth D.|last5=Gamarra|first5=Javier G. P.|last6=Herold|first6=Martin|last7=Kim|first7=Hyun Seok|last8=Luo|first8=Weixue|last9=Silva|first9=Carlos Alberto|last10=Tchebakova|first10=Nadezhda M.|last11=Mitra|first11=Ankita|last12=Finegold|first12=Yelena|last13=Jahanshahi|first13=Mohammad Reza|last14=Alvarez|first14=Cesar Ivan|last15=Kim|first15=Tae Kyung|date=22 July 2023|title=Spatial database of planted forests in East Asia|journal=Scientific Data|volume=10|issue=1|page=480|doi=10.1038/s41597-023-02383-w|pmc=10363164|pmid=37481639|last16=Ryu|first16=Daun|last17=Liang|first17=Jingjing|bibcode=2023NatSD..10..480A}}</ref>

=== Status by region ===
{{Main|Deforestation by continent}}

Rates of deforestation vary around the world. Up to 90% of ]'s coastal rainforests have disappeared since 1900.<ref>{{cite web|title=Forest Holocaust|url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/eye/deforestation/effect.html|work=National Geographic|access-date=16 October 2008|archive-date=22 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422132805/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/eye/deforestation/effect.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> ] has lost 90% of its eastern rainforests.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114052147/http://www.iucn.org/where/global/index.cfm?uNewsID=87|date=14 January 2009}}, 27 June 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Madagascar's rainforest map|url=https://www.newscientist.com/data/images/archive/1717/17173001.jpg|work=New Scientist|access-date=26 August 2017|archive-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920083715/https://www.newscientist.com/data/images/archive/1717/17173001.jpg|url-status=dead}}</ref> In ], about 88% of the rainforests have been lost.<ref>{{cite web|title=THE SIZE OF THE RAINFORESTS|url=http://www.csupomona.edu/~admckettrick/projects/ag101_project/html/size.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930064512/http://www.csupomona.edu/~admckettrick/projects/ag101_project/html/size.html|archive-date=30 September 2012|publisher=csupomona.edu}}</ref>

], ], the ], ], ], ], ], ], China, ], ], ], the ], ], ], ] and the ], have lost large areas of their rainforest.<ref>. Mongabay.com. Retrieved 4 December 2011.</ref><ref>. rainforestweb.org</ref>
] of locations of the ] as detected by ] from August 15 to August 22, 2019]]
].]]

Much of what remains of the world's rainforests is in the ], where the ] covers approximately 4 million square kilometres.<ref>, BBC, 14 February 2003.</ref> Some 80% of the deforestation of the Amazon can be attributed to cattle ranching,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schlanger|first1=Zoë|last2=Wolfe|first2=Daniel|date=21 August 2019|title=The fires in the Amazon were likely set intentionally|work=]|url=https://qz.com/1692804/fires-in-the-amazon-rainforests-were-likely-intentional|access-date=22 August 2019}}</ref> as Brazil is the largest exporter of beef in the world.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mackintosh|first=Eliza|date=23 August 2019|title=The Amazon is burning because the world eats so much meat|work=CNN|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/23/americas/brazil-beef-amazon-rainforest-fire-intl/index.html|access-date=23 August 2019}}</ref> The Amazon region has become one of the largest cattle ranching territories in the world.<ref>{{cite news|last=Liotta|first=Edoardo|date=23 August 2019|title=Feeling Sad About the Amazon Fires? Stop Eating Meat|work=]|url=https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/bjwzk4/feeling-sad-about-the-amazon-fires-stop-eating-meat|access-date=30 August 2019}}</ref> The regions with the highest tropical deforestation rate between 2000 and 2005 were ]—which lost 1.3% of its forests each year—and tropical Asia.<ref name="Butler" /> In ], two-thirds of lowland tropical forests have been turned into pasture since 1950 and 40% of all the rainforests have been lost in the last 40 years.<ref name="ru.org">{{cite web|author=Revington, John|title=The Causes of Tropical Deforestation|url=http://www.ru.org/ecology-and-environment/the-causes-of-tropical-deforestation.html|work=New Renaissance Magazine|access-date=17 October 2008|archive-date=27 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627031547/http://www.ru.org/ecology-and-environment/the-causes-of-tropical-deforestation.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> ] has lost 90–95% of its ] forest.<ref>{{cite web|title=What is Deforestation?|url=http://kids.mongabay.com/lesson_plans/lisa_algee/deforestation.html|work=kids.mongabay.com}}</ref> ] increased by 88% for the month of June 2019, as compared with the previous year.<ref>{{cite news|date=3 July 2019|title=Brazil registers huge spike in Amazon deforestation|work=Deutsche Welle|url=https://www.dw.com/en/brazil-registers-huge-spike-in-amazon-deforestation/a-49462773}}</ref> However, Brazil still destroyed 1.3 million hectares in 2019.<ref name="Guy-2020" /> ] is one of several countries that have declared their deforestation a national emergency.<ref>, USATODAY.com, 24 January 2008.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Vidal|first=John|date=31 May 2005|title=Rainforest loss shocks Brazil|work=The Guardian|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/brazil/story/0,,1488468,00.html|access-date=1 April 2010}}</ref>
] was losing its natural semi-humid forests in the country's western regions at a rate of 15,000 hectares at a randomly studied 2-month period in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paraguay es principal deforestador del Chaco|url=http://www.abc.com.py/nota/103480-Paraguay-es-principal-deforestador-del-Chaco|access-date=13 August 2011|work=ABC Color newspaper, Paraguay}}{{Dead link|date=August 2019|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> In 2009, Paraguay's parliament refused to pass a law that would have stopped cutting of natural forests altogether.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paraguay farmland|url=http://www.ventacamposparaguay.com/farmland.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120918031615/http://www.ventacamposparaguay.com/farmland.html|archive-date=18 September 2012|access-date=13 August 2011}}</ref>

As of 2007, ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Haiti Is Covered with Trees|url=http://www.envirosociety.org/2016/05/haiti-is-covered-with-trees/|access-date=14 November 2016|website=EnviroSociety|date=19 May 2016|publisher=Tarter, Andrew}}</ref>

From 2015 to 2019, the rate of ] in the Democratic Republic of the Congo doubled.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49679883|title=World 'losing battle against deforestation'|last=Kinver|first=Mark|date=2019-09-12|work=BBC News}}</ref> In 2021, deforestation of the ] increased by 5%.<ref>{{cite news|title=Analysis: The next Amazon? Congo Basin faces rising deforestation threat|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/next-amazon-congo-basin-faces-rising-deforestation-threat-2022-11-11/|work=Reuters|date=11 November 2022}}</ref>

The ]'s ] project catalogues habitat types throughout the world, including habitat loss such as deforestation, showing for example that even in the rich forests of parts of ] such as the ] of the prairie provinces half of the forest cover has been lost or altered.

In 2011, ] listed the top 10 most endangered forests, characterized by having all lost 90% or more of their original ], and each harboring at least 1500 ] plant species (species found nowhere else in the world).<ref name="ci2011">{{cite web|date=February 2, 2011|title=The World's 10 Most Threatened Forest Hotspots|url=http://www.conservation.org/newsroom/pressreleases/Pages/The-Worlds-10-Most-Threatened-Forest-Hotspots.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205040801/http://www.conservation.org/newsroom/pressreleases/Pages/The-Worlds-10-Most-Threatened-Forest-Hotspots.aspx|archive-date=February 5, 2011|website=Conservation.org|publisher=Conservation International}}</ref>

{{As of|2015}}, it is estimated that 70% of the world's forests are within one kilometer of a forest edge, where they are most prone to human interference and destruction.<ref name="IPCC_AR6" /><ref name="Haddad2015">{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/sciadv.1500052|title=Habitat fragmentation and its lasting impact on Earth's ecosystems|author1=Nick M. Haddad|author2=Lars A. Brudvig|author3=Jean Clobert|display-authors=et al.|date=2015|journal=Science Advances|volume=1|issue=2|pages=e1500052|pmid=26601154|pmc=4643828|bibcode=2015SciA....1E0052H}}</ref>

:{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+Top 10 Most Endangered Forests in 2011<ref name="ci2011" />
|-
! Endangered forest
! Region
! Remaining habitat
! Predominate vegetation type
! Notes
|-
|]
|Asia-Pacific
|5%
|]
|Rivers, floodplain wetlands, mangrove forests. ], ], ], ], ], ].<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
|]
|Asia-Pacific
|5%
|Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
|See note for region covered.<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
|]
|Asia-Pacific
|7%
|Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
|Western half of the Indo-Malayan archipelago including southern ] and ].<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
|]
|Asia-Pacific
|7%
|Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
|Forests over the entire country including 7,100 islands.<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
|]
|South America
|8%
|Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
|Forests along ]'s Atlantic coast, extends to parts of ], ] and ].<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111212005601/http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/atlantic_forest/Pages/default.aspx|date=12 December 2011}}, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
|Mountains of Southwest China
|Asia-Pacific
|8%
|]
|See note for region covered.<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
|]
|North America
|10%
|]
|See note for region covered.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110414053932/http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/california_floristic/Pages/default.aspx|date=14 April 2011}}, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
|]
|Africa
|10%
|Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
|], ], ], ].<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
|] & Indian Ocean Islands
|Africa
|10%
|Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
|], ], ], ], ].<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
|]
|Africa
|11%
|Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests<br />]
|Forests scattered along the eastern edge of Africa, from ] in the north to ] in the south.<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|}

===By country===
Deforestation in particular countries:

{{World topic|Deforestation in|title=Deforestation by country|noredlinks=yes|state=expanded}}


==Causes== ==Causes==
{{See also|Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest#Causes of deforestation|Deforestation in Brazil#Causes}}
According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat, the overwhelming direct cause of deforestation is agriculture. ] is responsible for 48% of deforestation; ] is responsible for 32% of deforestation; ] is responsible for 14% of deforestation and fuel wood removals make up 5% of deforestation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/background_publications_htmlpdf/application/pdf/pub_07_financial_flows.pdf|author=UNFCCC|title=Investment and financial flows to address climate change|work=unfccc.int|publisher=UNFCCC|page=81 |year=2007}}</ref>
]
]
] in ], ], ]. Deforestation for ] plantation.]]] continues to be the main driver of deforestation and forest fragmentation and the associated loss of forest biodiversity.<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020" /> Large-scale commercial agriculture (primarily cattle ranching and cultivation of soya bean and oil palm) accounted for 40 percent of tropical deforestation between 2000 and 2010, and local subsistence agriculture for another 33 percent.<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020" /> Trees are cut down for use as building material, timber or sold as fuel (sometimes in the form of ] or ]), while cleared land is used as ] for ] and agricultural crops.


The vast majority of agricultural activity resulting in deforestation is ].<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 3, 2015|title=Government Subsidies for Agriculture May Exacerbate Deforestation, says new UN report|url=https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/09/government-subsidies-for-agriculture-may-exacerbate-deforestation-says-new-un-report/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803153015/http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2015/09/government-subsidies-for-agriculture-may-exacerbate-deforestation-says-new-un-report/|archive-date=3 August 2016|access-date=2021-07-10|website=United Nations Sustainable Development|language=en-US}}</ref> Disregard of ascribed value, lax ], and deficient environmental laws are some of the factors that lead to large-scale deforestation.
Experts do not agree on whether industrial logging is an important contributor to global deforestation.<ref name=causesof>{{cite web|url=http://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/wbrobs/v14y1999i1p73-98.html|author=Arild Angelsen, David Kaimowitz|title=Rethinking the causes of deforestation: Lessons from economic models|work=The World Bank Research Observer, 14:1|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=73–98 |date=February 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://studentresearch.wcp.muohio.edu/BiogeogDiversityDisturbance/ReflectionsDeforestCrisis.pdf|first=William F.|last=Laurance|title=Reflections on the tropical deforestation crisis|work=Biological Conservation, Volume 91, Issues 2–3|date=December 1999|pages=109–117}}</ref> Some argue that poor people are more likely to clear forest because they have no alternatives, others that the poor lack the ability to pay for the materials and labour needed to clear forest.<ref name=causesof /> One study found that population increases due to high fertility rates were a primary driver of tropical deforestation in only 8% of cases.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.freenetwork.org/resources/documents/2-5Deforestationtropical.pdf|author=Helmut J. Geist And Eric F. Lambin|title=Proximate Causes and Underlying Driving Forces of Tropical Deforestation|date=February 2002|journal=BioScience|volume= 52|issue= 2|pages=143–150|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2002)0522.0.CO;2}}</ref>


The types of drivers vary greatly depending on the region in which they take place. The regions with the greatest amount of deforestation for livestock and row crop agriculture are Central and South America, while commodity crop deforestation was found mainly in Southeast Asia. The region with the greatest forest loss due to shifting agriculture was sub-Saharan Africa.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Curtis|first1=Philip G.|last2=Slay|first2=Christy M.|last3=Harris|first3=Nancy L.|last4=Tyukavina|first4=Alexandra|last5=Hansen|first5=Matthew C.|date=2018-09-14|title=Classifying drivers of global forest loss|journal=Science|language=en|volume=361|issue=6407|pages=1108–1111|bibcode=2018Sci...361.1108C|doi=10.1126/science.aau3445|issn=0036-8075|pmid=30213911|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Other causes of contemporary deforestation may include ] of government institutions,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=110193|title=Corruption blamed for deforestation|first=T.J.|last=Burgonio|publisher=Philippine Daily Inquirer|date=January 3, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/74/Uganda.html|title=WRM Bulletin Number 74|publisher=World Rainforest Movement|date=September 2003}}</ref> the ] distribution of wealth and power,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/deforest/deforest.html|title=Global Deforestation|work=Global Change Curriculum|publisher=University of Michigan Global Change Program|date=January 4, 2006}}</ref> ]<ref name=population1 /> and ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0816.htm|title=Impact of Population and Poverty on Rainforests|first=Rhett A|last=Butler|work=Mongabay.com / A Place Out of Time: Tropical Rainforests and the Perils They Face|accessdate=May 13, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/deforestation.htm|title=The Choice: Doomsday or Arbor Day|author=Jocelyn Stock, Andy Rochen|accessdate=May 13, 2009}}</ref> and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/0/7/4/8/p107488_index.html|title=Demographics, Democracy, Development, Disparity and Deforestation: A Crossnational Assessment of the Social Causes of Deforestation|last=Karen|work=Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Atlanta Hilton Hotel, Atlanta, GA, Aug 16, 2003|accessdate=May 13, 2009}}</ref> ] is often viewed as another root cause of deforestation,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=9366|title=The Double Edge of Globalization|publisher=Yale University Press|date=June 2007|work=YaleGlobal Online}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0805.htm|title=Human Threats to Rainforests—Economic Restructuring|first=Rhett A|last=Butler|work=Mongabay.com / A Place Out of Time: Tropical Rainforests and the Perils They Face|accessdate=May 13, 2009}}</ref> though there are cases in which the impacts of globalization (new flows of labor, capital, commodities, and ideas) have promoted localized forest recovery.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.spa.ucla.edu/cgpr/docs/sdarticle1.pdf|title=Globalization, Forest Resurgence, and Environmental Politics in El Salvador|author=Susanna B. Hecht, Susan Kandel, Ileana Gomes, Nelson Cuellar and Herman Rosa|journal=World Development |volume=34|issue= 2|pages=308–323|year=2006|doi=10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.09.005}}</ref>
] in Indragiri Hulu, Sumatra, ]. Deforestation for ] plantation.]]


=== Agriculture ===
In 2000 the United Nations ] (FAO) found that "the role of population dynamics in a local setting may vary from decisive to negligible," and that deforestation can result from "a combination of population pressure and stagnating economic, social and technological conditions."<ref name=population1>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/sd/WPdirect/WPan0050.htm|title=Population and deforestation|author=Alain Marcoux|date=August 2000|work=SD Dimensions|publisher=Sustainable Development Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)}}</ref>
{{further|Agricultural expansion}}


The overwhelming direct cause of deforestation is agriculture.<ref name="UNFCC-2007" /> ] is responsible for 48% of deforestation; ] is responsible for 32%; ] is responsible for 14%, and fuel wood removals make up 5%.<ref name="UNFCC-2007">{{cite web|url=http://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/background_publications_htmlpdf/application/pdf/pub_07_financial_flows.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080510090003/http://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/background_publications_htmlpdf/application/pdf/pub_07_financial_flows.pdf|archive-date=2008-05-10|url-status=live|title=Investment and financial flows to address climate change|work=unfccc.int|publisher=UNFCCC|page=81|year=2007}}</ref>
The degradation of forest ecosystems has also been traced to economic incentives that make forest conversion appear more profitable than forest conservation.<ref name=economicvalue>{{cite journal|url=http://www.cbd.int/doc/external/academic/forest-es-2003-en.pdf|last=Pearce|first=David W|title=The Economic Value of Forest Ecosystems|journal=Ecosystem Health|volume= 7|issue=4|month=December|year=2001|pages=284–296|doi=10.1046/j.1526-0992.2001.01037.x}}</ref> Many important forest functions have no markets, and hence, no economic value that is readily apparent to the forests' owners or the communities that rely on forests for their well-being.<ref name=economicvalue /> From the perspective of the developing world, the benefits of forest as carbon sinks or biodiversity reserves go primarily to richer developed nations and there is insufficient compensation for these services. Developing countries feel that some countries in the developed world, such as the United States of America, cut down their forests centuries ago and benefited greatly from this deforestation, and that it is hypocritical to deny developing countries the same opportunities: that the poor shouldn't have to bear the cost of preservation when the rich created the problem.<ref name=costarica>{{cite journal|author=Erwin H Bulte; Mark Joenje; Hans G P Jansen|title=Is there too much or too little natural forest in the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica?|journal=Canadian Journal of Forest Research|volume=30|issue=3|doi=10.1139/x99-225|year=2000|pages=495–506}}</ref>


More than 80% of deforestation was attributed to agriculture in 2018.<ref name="ScienceDaily-2018">{{Cite news|title=Agriculture is the direct driver for worldwide deforestation|language=en|work=ScienceDaily|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120925091608.htm|access-date=2018-04-29}}</ref> Forests are being converted to plantations for coffee, tea, ], rice, ], and various other popular products.<ref name="WWF-2020">{{Cite news|title=Forest Conversion|work=WWF|url=https://wwf.panda.org/our_work/our_focus/forests_practice/deforestation_causes2/forest_conversion/|access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref> The rising demand for certain products and global trade arrangements causes ]s, which ultimately leads to ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Starkel|first=Leszek|date=2018|title=Role Of Climatic And Anthropogenic Factors Accelerating Soil Erosion And Fluvial Activity In Central Europe|url=http://www.studia.quaternaria.pan.pl/pdfs/sq22/s_27_33.pdf|journal=Studia Quaternaria|volume=22}}</ref> The ] oftentimes erodes after forests are cleared which leads to sediment increase in rivers and streams.
Some commentators have noted a shift in the drivers of deforestation over the past 30 years.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://news.mongabay.com/Butler_and_Laurance-TREE.pdf|author=Butler, Rhett A. and Laurance, William F.|title=New strategies for conserving tropical forests|date=August 2008|journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution|volume= 23|issue= 9|pages=469–472|doi=10.1016/j.tree.2008.05.006}}</ref> Whereas deforestation was primarily driven by subsistence activities and government-sponsored development projects like ] in countries like ] and ] in ], ], ], and so on, during late 19th century and the earlier half of the 20th century. By the 1990s the majority of deforestation was caused by industrial factors, including extractive industries, large-scale cattle ranching, and extensive agriculture.<ref name=rud>Rudel, T.K. 2005 Columbia University Press ISBN 0-231-13195-X</ref>
]
Most deforestation also occurs in tropical regions. The estimated amount of total land mass used by agriculture is around 38%.<ref name="Longobardi-2016">{{Cite journal|last=Longobardi|first=Patrick|date=April 21, 2016|title=Deforestation induced Climate Change: Effects of Spatial Scale|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=11|issue=4|pages=e0153357|bibcode=2016PLoSO..1153357L|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0153357|pmc=4839769|pmid=27100667|doi-access=free}}</ref>


Since 1960, roughly 15% of the ] has been removed with the intention of replacing the land with agricultural practices.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cattle ranching in the Amazon rainforest|url=http://www.fao.org/3/XII/0568-B1.htm#P10_167|access-date=2020-02-25|website=www.fao.org}}</ref> It is no coincidence that Brazil has recently become the world's largest beef exporter at the same time that the ] is being clear cut.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-23|title=Growth of Brazil's Beef Industry Fueling Fires Destroying Amazon Rainforest|url=https://ktla.com/2019/08/23/growth-of-brazils-beef-industry-fueling-fires-destroying-amazon-rainforest/|access-date=2020-02-25|website=KTLA|language=en|archive-date=25 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225044405/https://ktla.com/2019/08/23/growth-of-brazils-beef-industry-fueling-fires-destroying-amazon-rainforest/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Environmental problems==


Another prevalent method of agricultural deforestation is ], which was primarily used by subsistence farmers in tropical regions but has now become increasingly less sustainable. The method does not leave land for continuous agricultural production but instead cuts and burns small plots of forest land which are then converted into agricultural zones. The farmers then exploit the nutrients in the ashes of the burned plants.<ref>{{Cite web|title=slash-and-burn agriculture {{!}} Definition & Impacts|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/slash-and-burn-agriculture|access-date=2020-04-28|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=What is Slash and Burn Agriculture|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-slash-and-burn-agriculture.html|access-date=2020-04-28|website=World Atlas|language=en}}</ref> As well as, intentionally set fires can possibly lead to devastating measures when unintentionally spreading fire to more land, which can result in the destruction of the protective canopy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Deforestation and Climate Change|url=http://climate.org/deforestation-and-climate-change/|access-date=28 September 2023|archive-date=15 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315141809/http://climate.org/deforestation-and-climate-change/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Atmospheric===
], 2010]]
Deforestation is ongoing and is shaping ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2004/0603amazondry.html|title=NASA – Top Story – NASA DATA SHOWS DEFORESTATION AFFECTS CLIMATE}}</ref><ref name="newsfromafrica.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfromafrica/articles/art_9607.html|title=Massive deforestation threatens food security}}</ref><ref>, ScienceDaily</ref><ref>, ScienceDaily, May 11, 2007</ref><ref> March 4, 2013 ]</ref>


The repeated cycle of low yields and shortened fallow periods eventually results in less vegetation being able to grow on once burned lands and a decrease in average soil biomass.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Houghton|first=R.A|date=December 2012|title=Carbon emissions and the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in the tropics|journal=Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability|volume=4|issue=6|pages=597–603|bibcode=2012COES....4..597H|doi=10.1016/j.cosust.2012.06.006|issn=1877-3435}}</ref> In small local plots sustainability is not an issue because of longer fallow periods and lesser overall deforestation. The relatively small size of the plots allowed for no net input of {{CO2}} to be released.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Tinker|first1=P. Bernard|last2=Ingram|first2=John S. I.|last3=Struwe|first3=Sten|date=1996-06-01|title=Effects of slash-and-burn agriculture and deforestation on climate change|journal=Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment|language=en|volume=58|issue=1|pages=13–22|doi=10.1016/0167-8809(95)00651-6|bibcode=1996AgEE...58...13T|issn=0167-8809}}</ref>
Deforestation is a contributor to ],<ref>, ]</ref><ref name="Fearnidel">Philip M. Fearnside1 and William F. Laurance, ''TROPICAL DEFORESTATION AND GREENHOUSE-GAS EMISSIONS'', Ecological Applications, Volume 14, Issue 4 (August 2004) pp. 982–986</ref> and is often cited as one of the major causes of the enhanced ]. Tropical deforestation is responsible for approximately 20% of world greenhouse gas emissions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fondationchirac.eu/en/deforestation/|title=Fondation Chirac &raquo; Deforestation and desertification}}</ref> According to the ] deforestation, mainly in tropical areas, could account for up to one-third of total ] ] emissions.<ref name="IPCC deforestation">IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, Working Group I Report "The Physical Science Basis",
(p. 527)</ref> But recent calculations suggest that carbon dioxide emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (excluding ] emissions) contribute about 12% of total anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions with a range from 6 to 17%.<ref>{{Cite journal|author=G.R. van der Werf, D.C.Morton, R.S. DeFries, J.G.J. Olivier, P.S. Kasibhatla, R.B. Jackson, G.J. Collatz and J.T. Randerson|title=CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from forest loss|journal=Nature Geoscience|volume=2 |year=2009|pages=737–738|doi=10.1038/ngeo671|issue=11}}</ref> Deforestation causes carbon dioxide to linger in the atmosphere. As carbon dioxide accrues, it produces a layer in the atmosphere that traps radiation from the sun. The radiation converts to heat which causes global warming, which is better known as the greenhouse effect.<ref>Mumoki, Fiona. “The Effects of Deforestation on our Environment Today.” Panorama. TakingITGlobal. 18 July 2006. Web. 24 March 2012.</ref> Other plants remove ] (in the form of ]) from the ] during the process of ] and release oxygen back into the atmosphere during normal respiration. Only when actively growing can a tree or forest remove carbon over an annual or longer timeframe. Both the decay and burning of wood releases much of this stored carbon back to the atmosphere. In order for forests to take up carbon, the wood must be harvested and turned into long-lived products and trees must be re-planted.<ref>I.C. Prentice. IPCC</ref> Deforestation may cause carbon stores held in soil to be released. Forests are stores of carbon and can be either sinks or sources depending upon environmental circumstances. Mature forests alternate between being net sinks and net sources of carbon dioxide (see ] and ]). In deforested areas, the land heats up faster and reaches a higher temperature, leading to localized upward motions that enhance the formation of clouds and ultimately produce more rainfall.<ref>. NASA News. June 9, 2004</ref> However, according to the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, the models used to investigate remote responses to tropical deforestation showed a broad but mild temperature increase all through the tropical atmosphere. The model predicted <0.2°C warming for upper air at 700 mb and 500 mb. However, the model shows no significant changes in other areas besides the Tropics. Though the model showed no significant changes to the climate in areas other than the Tropics, this may not be the case since the model has possible errors and the results are never absolutely definite.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Findell|first=Kristen L.|coauthors=Thomas R. Knutson|title=Weak Simulated Extratropical Responses to Complete Tropical Deforestation|journal=Journal of Climate|year=2006|volume=19|issue=12|pages=2835–2850|doi=10.1175/JCLI3737.1}}</ref>
], 2006. People use ] deforestation to clear land for agriculture.]]
] in developing countries has emerged as a new potential to complement ongoing climate policies. The idea consists in providing financial compensations for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deforestation and forest degradation".<ref>S. Wertz-Kanounnikoff, L. Ximena Rubio Alvarado, , Analyses, n° 2, 2007, Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations.</ref>


==== Livestock ranching ====
Rainforests are widely believed by laymen to contribute a significant amount of the world's oxygen,<ref name="timesonline.co.uk">{{Cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article664544.ece|title=How can you save the rain forest. October 8, 2006. Frank Field|location=London|work=The Times|date=October 8, 2006|accessdate=April 1, 2010}}</ref> although it is now accepted by scientists that rainforests contribute little net ] to the ] and deforestation has only a minor effect on atmospheric oxygen levels.<ref>Broeker, Wallace S. (2006). Columbia University</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Moran|first1=Emilio F.|title=Deforestation and land use in the Brazilian Amazon|journal=Human Ecology|volume=21|page=1|year=1993|doi=10.1007/BF00890069}}</ref> However, the incineration and burning of forest plants to clear land releases large amounts of CO<sub>2</sub>, which contributes to global warming.<ref name="Fearnidel" /> Scientists also state that tropical deforestation releases 1.5 billion tons of carbon each year into the atmosphere.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.envsci.2007.01.010|journal=Environmental Science Policy |year=2007|volume= 10|issue= 4|pages= 385–394|author=R Defries, F Achard, S Brown, M Herold, D Murdiyarso, B Schlamadinger, C Desouzajr|title=Earth observations for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation in developing countries|url=http://www.gofc-gold.uni-jena.de/documents/other/EO_for_GHG_emissions.pdf}}</ref>
], with around 80% of all converted land being used to rear cattle.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wang|first=George C.|date=9 April 2017|title=Go vegan, save the planet|work=]|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/08/opinions/go-vegan-save-the-planet-wang/|access-date=25 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Liotta|first=Edoardo|date=23 August 2019|title=Feeling Sad About the Amazon Fires? Stop Eating Meat|work=]|url=https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/bjwzk4/feeling-sad-about-the-amazon-fires-stop-eating-meat|access-date=25 August 2019}}</ref> 91% of Amazon land deforested since 1970 has been converted to cattle ranching.<ref name="fao">{{cite book|author1=Steinfeld, Henning|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.htm|title=Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options|author2=Gerber, Pierre|author3=Wassenaar, T. D.|author4=Castel, Vincent|publisher=]|year=2006|isbn=978-92-5-105571-7|access-date=19 August 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Margulis|first=Sergio|url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2004/02/02/000090341_20040202130625/Rendered/PDF/277150PAPER0wbwp0no1022.pdf|title=Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon|series=World Bank Working Paper No. 22|publisher=The World Bank|year=2004|isbn=0-8213-5691-7|location=Washington D.C.|page=9|access-date=4 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910042549/http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2004/02/02/000090341_20040202130625/Rendered/PDF/277150PAPER0wbwp0no1022.pdf|archive-date=10 September 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>


] ]ing requires large portions of land to raise herds of animals and livestock crops for consumer needs. According to the ], "Extensive cattle ranching is the number one culprit of deforestation in virtually every Amazon country, and it accounts for 80% of current deforestation."<ref>{{cite web|title=Unsustainable Cattle Ranching|url=https://wwf.panda.org/discover/knowledge_hub/where_we_work/amazon/amazon_threats/unsustainable_cattle_ranching/|access-date=22 October 2022|publisher=World Wildlife Fund}}</ref>
Forests are also able to extract ] and ]s from the air, thus contributing to biosphere stability.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}


The cattle industry is responsible for a significant amount of ] since 60% of all mammals on earth are livestock cows.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2009-01-31|title=How cattle ranches are chewing up the Amazon rainforest {{!}} Greenpeace UK|language=en-GB|work=Greenpeace UK|url=https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/how-cattle-ranching-chewing-amazon-rainforest-20090129/|access-date=2018-04-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Carrington|first=Damian|date=2018-05-21|title=Humans just 0.01% of all life but have destroyed 83% of wild mammals – study|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/21/human-race-just-001-of-all-life-but-has-destroyed-over-80-of-wild-mammals-study|access-date=2020-04-28|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Replacing forest land with pastures creates a loss of ], which leads to the implication of increased greenhouse gas emissions by burning agriculture methodologies and ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sanquetta|first1=Carlos R.|last2=Bastos|first2=Alexis De S.|last3=Sanquetta|first3=Mateus N. I.|last4=Barberena|first4=Iara M.|last5=Corte|first5=Ana P. Dalla|last6=Queiroz|first6=Alexandre|last7=Almeida|first7=Luiz Felipe P. U.|date=2022-08-05|title=Assessing the carbon stock of cultivated pastures in Rondônia, southwestern Brazilian Amazon|journal=Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências|language=en|volume=94|issue=4|pages=e20210262|doi=10.1590/0001-3765202220210262|issn=0001-3765|pmid=35946750|s2cid=251429424|doi-access=free}}</ref>
===Hydrological===
The water cycle is also affected by deforestation. Trees extract groundwater through their roots and release it into the atmosphere. When part of a forest is removed, the trees no longer transpire this water, resulting in a much drier climate. Deforestation reduces the content of water in the soil and groundwater as well as atmospheric moisture. The dry soil leads to lower water intake for the trees to extract.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrm.org.uy/deforestation/UNreport.html|title=Underlying Causes of Deforestation|work= UN Secretary-General’s Report}}</ref> Deforestation reduces soil cohesion, so that ], flooding and ]s ensue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uwec.edu/jolhm/EH2/Rogge/index.htm|author=Daniel Rogge|work=University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire|title=Deforestation and Landslides in Southwestern Washington}}</ref><ref> BBC News. August 6, 1999</ref>


=== Wood industry ===
Shrinking forest cover lessens the landscape's capacity to intercept, retain and ] precipitation. Instead of trapping precipitation, which then percolates to groundwater systems, deforested areas become sources of surface water runoff, which moves much faster than subsurface flows. That quicker transport of surface water can translate into ]ing and more localized floods than would occur with the forest cover. Deforestation also contributes to decreased ], which lessens atmospheric moisture which in some cases affects precipitation levels downwind from the deforested area, as water is not recycled to downwind forests, but is lost in runoff and returns directly to the oceans. According to one study, in deforested north and northwest China, the average annual precipitation decreased by one third between the 1950s and the 1980s.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}
{{further|Wood industry}}


A large contributing factor to deforestation is the ]. A total of almost {{convert|4|e6ha|e6acre|abbr=off}} of timber,<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|title=Rates of Deforestation & Reforestation in the U.S.|url=http://education.seattlepi.com/rates-deforestation-reforestation-us-3804.html|access-date=2018-04-11}}</ref> or about 1.3% of all forest land, is harvested each year. In addition, the increasing demand for low-cost timber products only supports the lumber company to continue logging.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Logging {{!}} Global Forest Atlas|url=https://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/forest-use-logging/logging|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190605190507/https://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/forest-use-logging/logging|archive-date=2019-06-05|access-date=2020-04-28|website=globalforestatlas.yale.edu}}</ref>
Trees, and plants in general, affect the ] significantly:
*their canopies intercept a proportion of ], which is then evaporated back to the atmosphere (]);
*their litter, stems and trunks slow down ];
*their roots create ]s – large conduits – in the soil that increase ] of water;
*they contribute to terrestrial evaporation and reduce ] via ];
*their ] and other organic residue change soil properties that affect the capacity of soil to store water.
*their leaves control the ] of the atmosphere by ]. 99% of the water absorbed by the roots moves up to the leaves and is transpired.<ref> North Dakota State University.</ref>
As a result, the presence or absence of trees can change the quantity of water on the surface, in the soil or groundwater, or in the atmosphere. This in turn changes erosion rates and the availability of water for either ecosystem functions or human services.


Experts do not agree on whether industrial logging is an important contributor to global deforestation.<ref name="causesof">{{cite journal|url=https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/wbrobs/v14y1999i1p73-98.html|author1=Angelsen, Arild|author2=Kaimowitz, David|title=Rethinking the causes of deforestation: Lessons from economic models|pmid=12322119|doi=10.1093/wbro/14.1.73|jstor=3986539|journal=The World Bank Research Observer|volume= 14|issue=1|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=73–98|date=February 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://studentresearch.wcp.muohio.edu/BiogeogDiversityDisturbance/ReflectionsDeforestCrisis.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908032336/http://studentresearch.wcp.muohio.edu/BiogeogDiversityDisturbance/ReflectionsDeforestCrisis.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=8 September 2006|first=William F.|last=Laurance|title=Reflections on the tropical deforestation crisis|journal=Biological Conservation|volume=91|issue=2–3|date=December 1999|pages=109–117|doi=10.1016/S0006-3207(99)00088-9|bibcode=1999BCons..91..109L}}</ref> Some argue that poor people are more likely to clear forest because they have no alternatives, others that the poor lack the ability to pay for the materials and labour needed to clear forest.<ref name="causesof" />
The forest may have little impact on flooding in the case of large rainfall events, which overwhelm the storage capacity of forest soil if the soils are at or close to saturation.


=== Economic development ===
]s produce about 30% of our planet's fresh water.<ref name="timesonline.co.uk"/>
Other causes of contemporary deforestation may include ] of government institutions,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=110193|title=Corruption blamed for deforestation|first=T.J.|last=Burgonio|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer|date=3 January 2008}}{{Dead link|date=November 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/74/Uganda.html|title=WRM Bulletin Number 74|publisher=World Rainforest Movement|date=September 2003|access-date=17 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004225352/http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/74/Uganda.html|archive-date=4 October 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cozma|first1=Adeline-Cristina|last2=Cotoc|first2=Corina-Narcisa (Bodescu)|last3=Vaidean|first3=Viorela Ligia|last4=Achim|first4=Monica Violeta|date=2021|title=Corruption, Shadow Economy and Deforestation: Friends or Strangers?|url=https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jrisks/v9y2021i9p153-d621556.html|journal=Risks|language=en|volume=9|issue=9|page=153|doi=10.3390/risks9090153|doi-access=free|hdl=10419/258237|hdl-access=free}}</ref> the ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/deforest/deforest.html|title=Global Deforestation|work=Global Change Curriculum|publisher=University of Michigan Global Change Program|date=4 January 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615044847/http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/deforest/deforest.html|archive-date=15 June 2011}}</ref> ]<ref name="population1">{{cite web|author=Marcoux, Alain|date=August 2000|title=Population and deforestation|url=http://www.fao.org/sd/WPdirect/WPan0050.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628184520/http://www.fao.org/sd/WPdirect/WPan0050.htm|archive-date=28 June 2011|work=SD Dimensions|publisher=Sustainable Development Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)}}</ref> and ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0816.htm|title=Impact of Population and Poverty on Rainforests|first=Rhett A|last=Butler|work=Mongabay.com / A Place Out of Time: Tropical Rainforests and the Perils They Face|access-date=13 May 2009}}</ref><ref name=r1>{{cite web|url=http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/deforestation.htm|title=The Choice: Doomsday or Arbor Day|author1=Stock, Jocelyn|author2=Rochen, Andy|work=umich.edu|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416161300/http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/deforestation.htm|archive-date=16 April 2009}}</ref> and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/0/7/4/8/p107488_index.html|title=Demographics, Democracy, Development, Disparity and Deforestation: A Crossnational Assessment of the Social Causes of Deforestation|author=Ehrhardt-Martinez, Karen|work=Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Atlanta Hilton Hotel, Atlanta, GA, 16 August 2003|access-date=13 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210160729/http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/0/7/4/8/p107488_index.html|archive-date=10 December 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Urbanisation {{!}} DEFORESTATION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA|url=https://blogs.ntu.edu.sg/hp3203-1718-s2-04/causes/urbanisation/|access-date=2022-11-01|website=blogs.ntu.edu.sg}}</ref> The impact of population growth on deforestation has been contested. One study found that population increases due to high fertility rates were a primary driver of tropical deforestation in only 8% of cases.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Geist|first1=Helmut J.|last2=Lambin|first2=Eric F.|date=February 2002|title=Proximate Causes and Underlying Driving Forces of Tropical Deforestation|journal=BioScience|volume=52|issue=2|pages=143–150|doi=10.1641/0006-3568(2002)0522.0.CO;2|doi-access=free}}</ref> In 2000 the United Nations ] (FAO) found that "the role of population dynamics in a local setting may vary from decisive to negligible", and that deforestation can result from "a combination of ] and stagnating economic, social and technological conditions".<ref name="population1" />


] is often viewed as another root cause of deforestation,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=9366|title=The Double Edge of Globalization|publisher=Yale University Press|date=June 2007|work=YaleGlobal Online|access-date=17 October 2008|archive-date=10 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410154645/http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=9366|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0805.htm|title=Human Threats to Rainforests—Economic Restructuring|first=Rhett A|last=Butler|work=Mongabay.com / A Place Out of Time: Tropical Rainforests and the Perils They Face|access-date=13 May 2009}}</ref> though there are cases in which the impacts of globalization (new flows of labor, capital, commodities, and ideas) have promoted localized forest recovery.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.spa.ucla.edu/cgpr/docs/sdarticle1.pdf|title=Globalization, Forest Resurgence, and Environmental Politics in El Salvador|journal=World Development|volume=34|issue=2|pages=308–323|year=2006|doi=10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.09.005|last1=Hecht|first1=Susanna B.|last2=Kandel|first2=Susan|last3=Gomes|first3=Ileana|last4=Cuellar|first4=Nelson|last5=Rosa|first5=Herman|access-date=17 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029090622/http://www.spa.ucla.edu/cgpr/docs/sdarticle1.pdf|archive-date=29 October 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Soil===
] in the ]ian city of ]. The hill depicted is Morro da Covanca, in ]]]
Undisturbed forests have a very low rate of ] loss, approximately 2 metric ]s per square kilometer (6 short tons per square mile).{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}} Deforestation generally increases rates of soil ], by increasing the amount of ] and reducing the protection of the soil from tree litter. This can be an advantage in excessively leached tropical rain forest soils. Forestry operations themselves also increase erosion through the development of roads and the use of mechanized equipment.


] gold mining in Madre de Dios, ].]]
China's ] was cleared of forest millennia ago. Since then it has been eroding, creating dramatic incised valleys, and providing the sediment that gives the Yellow River its yellow color and that causes the flooding of the river in the lower reaches (hence the river's nickname 'China's sorrow').


The degradation of forest ecosystems has also been traced to economic incentives that make forest conversion appear more profitable than forest conservation.<ref name=economicvalue>{{cite journal|url=http://www.cbd.int/doc/external/academic/forest-es-2003-en.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511061430/https://www.cbd.int/doc/external/academic/forest-es-2003-en.pdf|archive-date=2008-05-11|url-status=live|last=Pearce|first=David W|title=The Economic Value of Forest Ecosystems|journal=Ecosystem Health|volume= 7|issue=4|date=December 2001|pages=284–296|doi=10.1046/j.1526-0992.2001.01037.x}}</ref> Many important forest functions have no markets, and hence, no economic value that is readily apparent to the forests' owners or the communities that rely on forests for their well-being.<ref name=economicvalue />
Removal of trees does not always increase erosion rates. In certain regions of southwest US, shrubs and trees have been encroaching on grassland. The trees themselves enhance the loss of grass between tree canopies. The bare intercanopy areas become highly erodible. The US Forest Service, in Bandelier National Monument for example, is studying how to restore the former ecosystem, and reduce erosion, by removing the trees.


Some commentators have noted a shift in the drivers of deforestation over the past 30 years.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://news.mongabay.com/Butler_and_Laurance-TREE.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211082735/http://news.mongabay.com/Butler_and_Laurance-TREE.pdf|archive-date=2009-12-11|url-status=live|author1=Butler, Rhett A.|author2=Laurance, William F.|title=New strategies for conserving tropical forests|date=August 2008|journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution|volume= 23|issue= 9|pages=469–472|doi=10.1016/j.tree.2008.05.006|pmid=18656280|bibcode=2008TEcoE..23..469B}}</ref> Whereas deforestation was primarily driven by subsistence activities and government-sponsored development projects like ] in countries like ] and ] in ], ], ], and so on, during the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, by the 1990s the majority of deforestation was caused by industrial factors, including extractive industries, large-scale cattle ranching, and extensive agriculture.<ref name=rud>Rudel, T.K. (2005) . Columbia University Press {{ISBN|0-231-13195-X}}</ref> Since 2001, commodity-driven deforestation, which is more likely to be permanent, has accounted for about a quarter of all forest disturbance, and this loss has been concentrated in South America and Southeast Asia.<ref name="CurtisSlay2018">{{cite journal|last1= Curtis|first1=P. G.|last2= Slay|first2=C. M.|last3= Harris|first3=N. L.|last4= Tyukavina|first4= A.|last5= Hansen|first5=M. C.|s2cid=52273353|title= Classifying drivers of global forest loss|journal= Science|volume= 361|issue= 6407|year= 2018|pages= 1108–1111|doi= 10.1126/science.aau3445|pmid=30213911|bibcode=2018Sci...361.1108C|doi-access= free}}</ref>
Tree roots bind soil together, and if the soil is sufficiently shallow they act to keep the soil in place by also binding with underlying ]. Tree removal on steep slopes with shallow soil thus increases the risk of ]s, which can threaten people living nearby.


As the human population grows, new homes, communities, and expansions of cities will occur, leading to an increase in roads to connect these communities. Rural roads promote economic development but also facilitate deforestation.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|author1=Chomitz, Kenneth|author2=Gray, David A.|year=1999|title=Roads, lands, markets, and deforestation: a spatial model of land use in Belize|url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/1995/04/01/000009265_3970311121720/Rendered/PDF/multi_page.pdf|url-status=live|series=Policy Research Working Papers|doi=10.1596/1813-9450-1444|s2cid=129453055|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170815065239/http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/1995/04/01/000009265_3970311121720/Rendered/PDF/multi_page.pdf|archive-date=2017-08-15}}</ref> About 90% of the deforestation has occurred within 100&nbsp;km of roads in most parts of the Amazon.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite journal|last1=Ferraz|first1=Silvio Frosini de Barros|last2=Vettorazzi|first2=Carlos Alberto|last3=Theobald|first3=David M.|year=2009|title=Using indicators of deforestation and land-use dynamics to support conservation strategies: A case study of central Rondônia, Brazil|journal=Forest Ecology and Management|volume=257|issue=7|pages=1586–1595|doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2009.01.013|bibcode=2009ForEM.257.1586F}}</ref>
===Biodiversity===
Deforestation on a human scale results in decline in biodiversity,<ref>Sten Nilsson, , American Institute of Biological Sciences, March 2001</ref> and on a natural global scale is known to cause the extinction of many species.<ref name="SahneyBentonFalconLang 2010RainforestCollapse">{{cite journal | url=http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/38/12/1079 | author= Sahney, S., Benton, M.J. & Falcon-Lang, H.J. | year=2010 | title= Rainforest collapse triggered Pennsylvanian tetrapod diversification in Euramerica | journal=Geology | doi=10.1130/G31182.1 | volume = 38 | pages = 1079–1082 | format=PDF | issue=12 }}</ref> The removal or destruction of areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/deforestation.htm|title=Deforestation}}</ref> Forests support biodiversity, providing habitat for ];<ref>, ScienceDaily, August 14, 2007</ref> moreover, forests foster ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20081206015033/http://www.bmbf.de/en/12484.php|work=Research for Biodiversity Editorial Office|title= Medicine from the rainforest}}</ref> With forest biotopes being irreplaceable source of new drugs (such as ]), deforestation can destroy ] variations (such as crop resistance) irretrievably.<ref>, Bio-Medicine, November 14, 2007</ref>
]. In 2009, the vast majority of the illegally obtained rosewood was exported to ].]]
Since the tropical rainforests are the most diverse ]s on Earth<ref>, BBC</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://library.thinkquest.org/11353/trforest.htm|title=Tropical Rainforest}}</ref> and about 80% of the world's known ] could be found in tropical rainforests,<ref>, Reuters, 20 June 2008</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm|title=Rainforest Facts}}</ref> removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a ]<ref>, BBC</ref> environment with reduced biodiversity.<ref name="SahneyBentonFalconLang 2010RainforestCollapse"/><ref>Rhett A. Butler, , mongabay.com, 2 July 2007</ref> A study in ], Brazil, has shown that deforestation also removes the microbial community which is involved in the recycling of nutrients, the production of clean water and the removal of pollutants.<ref name=ro>{{cite web |last=Flowers |first=April |title=Deforestation In The Amazon Affects Microbial Life As Well As Ecosystems |url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112753888/amazon-deforestation-microbial-communities-122512/ |work=Science News |publisher=Redorbit.com|accessdate=12 March 2013}}</ref>


=== Mining ===
It has been estimated that we are losing 137 plant, animal and insect species every single day due to rainforest deforestation, which equates to 50,000 species a year.<ref name="rain-tree.com">. Rain-tree.com (2010-03-20). Retrieved on 2010-08-29.</ref> Others state that tropical rainforest deforestation is contributing to the ongoing ].<ref>Leakey, Richard and Roger Lewin, 1996, ''The Sixth Extinction : Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind'', Anchor, ISBN 0-385-46809-1</ref><ref>, The Independent, 28 June 2003</ref> The known extinction rates from deforestation rates are very low, approximately 1 species per year from mammals and birds which extrapolates to approximately 23,000 species per year for all species. Predictions have been made that more than 40% of the animal and ] in ] could be wiped out in the 21st century.<ref>, New Scientist, 23 July 2003</ref> Such predictions were called into question by 1995 data that show that within regions of Southeast Asia much of the original forest has been converted to monospecific plantations, but that potentially endangered species are few and tree flora remains widespread and stable.<ref name="ReferenceB" />
The importance of ] as a cause of deforestation increased quickly in the beginning the 21st century, among other because of increased demand for minerals. The direct impact of mining is relatively small, but the indirect impacts are much more significant. More than a third of the earth's forests are possibly impacted, at some level and in the years 2001–2021, "755,861 km<sup>2</sup>... ...had been deforested by causes indirectly related to mining activities alongside other deforestation drivers (based on data from WWF)"<ref>{{cite book|title=EXTRACTED FORESTS UNEARTHING THE ROLE OF MINING-RELATED DEFORESTATION AS A DRIVER OF GLOBAL DEFORESTATION|date=2023|publisher=World Wildlife Fund|pages=3, 6, 7, 22|url=https://www.wwf.de/fileadmin/fm-wwf/Publikationen-PDF/Wald/WWF-Studie-Extracted-Forests.pdf|access-date=23 April 2023}}</ref>


In the year 2023, mining, including for the elements needed for the ] strongly contributed to deforestation. Mining is a particular threat to biodiversity: "in 2019, 79 percent of global metal ore extraction originated from five of the six most species-rich biomes".<ref>{{cite book |title=Forests under fire: Tracking progress on 2030 forest goals. |date=October 2024 |publisher=Forest Declaration Assessment Partners |pages=8, 14, 15, 19, 57, 58 |url=https://forestdeclaration.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024ForestDeclarationAssessment.pdf |access-date=29 October 2024}}</ref>
Scientific understanding of the process of extinction is insufficient to accurately make predictions about the impact of deforestation on biodiversity.<ref>{{cite journal|author = Pimm Stuart L, Russell Gareth J, Gittleman John L, Brooks Thomas M|year = 1995|title = The future of biodiversity|journal = Science|volume = 269|issue = 5222| pages = 347–341|doi = 10.1126/science.269.5222.347|pmid=17841251}}</ref> Most predictions of forestry related biodiversity loss are based on species-area models, with an underlying assumption that as the forest declines species diversity will decline similarly.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book|author1=Timothy Charles Whitmore|author2=Jeffrey Sayer|author3=International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. General Assembly|coauthors=IUCN Forest Conservation Programme|title=Tropical deforestation and species extinction|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Et4opq8dn4MC|accessdate=4 December 2011|date=15 February 1992|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-412-45520-9}}</ref> However, many such models have been proven to be wrong and loss of habitat does not necessarily lead to large scale loss of species.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Species-area models are known to overpredict the number of species known to be threatened in areas where actual deforestation is ongoing, and greatly overpredict the number of threatened species that are widespread.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.269.5222.347|title=The Future of Biodiversity|year=1995|last1=Pimm|first1=S. L.|last2=Russell|first2=G. J.|last3=Gittleman|first3=J. L.|last4=Brooks|first4=T. M.|journal=Science|volume=269|issue=5222|pages=347–350|pmid=17841251}}</ref>


=== Climate change ===
A recent study of the Brazilian Amazon predicts that despite a lack of extinctions thus far, up to 90 percent of predicted extinctions will finally occur in the next 40 years.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sohn|first=Emily|title=More extinctions expected in Amazon|work=Discovery|url=http://news.discovery.com/earth/amazon-extinctions-to-come-120712.html|accessdate=July 13, 2012}}</ref>
Another cause of deforestation is due to the ]: More ]s,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Heidari|first1=Hadi|last2=Arabi|first2=Mazdak|last3=Warziniack|first3=Travis|date=August 2021|title=Effects of Climate Change on Natural-Caused Fire Activity in Western U.S. National Forests|journal=Atmosphere|language=en|volume=12|issue=8|pages=981|bibcode=2021Atmos..12..981H|doi=10.3390/atmos12080981|doi-access=free}}</ref> insect outbreaks, ], and more frequent ] events (such as storms) are factors that increase deforestation.<ref name="Seymour-2019">{{Cite journal|last1=Seymour|first1=Frances|last2=Gibbs|first2=David|date=2019-08-08|title=Forests in the IPCC Special Report on Land Use: 7 Things to Know|url=https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/08/forests-ipcc-special-report-land-use-7-things-know|language=en|access-date=2020-03-20|website=World Resources Institute}}</ref>


A study suggests that "tropical, arid and temperate forests are experiencing a significant decline in resilience, probably related to increased water limitations and climate variability" which may shift ecosystems towards ]s and ]s.<ref name="10.1038/s41586-022-04959-9">{{cite journal |last1=Forzieri |first1=Giovanni |last2=Dakos |first2=Vasilis |last3=McDowell |first3=Nate G. |last4=Ramdane |first4=Alkama |last5=Cescatti |first5=Alessandro |date=August 2022 |title=Emerging signals of declining forest resilience under climate change |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=608 |issue=7923 |pages=534–539 |doi=10.1038/s41586-022-04959-9 |issn=1476-4687 |pmc=9385496 |pmid=35831499 |doi-access=free}}
==Economic impact==
Damage to forests and other aspects of nature could halve ]s for the world's ] and reduce global ] by about 7% by 2050, a report concluded at the ] (CBD) meeting in Bonn.<ref>, BBC News, May 29, 2008</ref> Historically, utilization of forest products, including timber and fuel wood, has played a key role in human societies, comparable to the roles of water and cultivable land. Today, developed countries continue to utilize timber for building houses, and wood pulp for ]. In developing countries almost three billion people rely on wood for heating and cooking.<ref>. (PDF) . Retrieved on 2011-12-04.</ref>


* News article: {{cite news |title=Forests are becoming less resilient because of climate change |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2328268-forests-are-becoming-less-resilient-because-of-climate-change/ |access-date=21 August 2022 |work=New Scientist}}</ref> By contrast, "boreal forests show divergent local patterns with an average increasing trend in resilience, probably benefiting from warming and {{CO2}} fertilization, which may outweigh the adverse effects of climate change".<ref name="10.1038/s41586-022-04959-9" /> It has been proposed that a loss of resilience in forests "can be detected from the increased temporal autocorrelation (TAC) in the state of the system, reflecting a decline in recovery rates due to the critical slowing down (CSD) of system processes that occur at thresholds".<ref name="10.1038/s41586-022-04959-9" />
The forest products industry is a large part of the economy in both developed and developing countries. Short-term economic gains made by conversion of forest to agriculture, or ] of wood products, typically leads to loss of long-term income and long-term biological productivity. ], ], ] and many other regions have experienced lower revenue because of declining timber harvests. Illegal logging causes billions of dollars of losses to national economies annually.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0905.htm|work=rainforests.mongabay.com|title=Destruction of Renewable Resources}}</ref>


23% of tree cover losses result from wildfires and climate change increase their frequency and power.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Harris|first1=Nancy|last2=Dow Goldman|first2=Elizabeth|last3=Weisse|first3=Mikaela|last4=Barrett|first4=Alyssa|date=13 September 2018|title=When a Tree Falls, Is It Deforestation?|url=https://www.wri.org/blog/2018/09/when-tree-falls-it-deforestation|access-date=30 August 2019|website=World Resources Institute}}</ref> The rising temperatures cause massive wildfires especially in the ]s. One possible effect is the change of the forest composition.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Dapcevich|first1=Madison|date=28 August 2019|title=Disastrous Wildfires Sweeping Through Alaska Could Permanently Alter Forest Composition|agency=Ecowatch|url=https://www.ecowatch.com/alaska-wildfires-forests-trees-2640081853.html|access-date=30 August 2019}}</ref> Deforestation can also cause forests to become more fire prone through mechanisms such as logging.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Woods|first=Paul|date=1989|title=Effects of Logging, Drought, and Fire on Structure and Composition of Tropical Forests in Sabah, Malaysia|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2388278|journal=Biotropica|volume=21|issue=4|pages=290–298|doi=10.2307/2388278|issn=0006-3606|jstor=2388278|bibcode=1989Biotr..21..290W}}</ref>
The new procedures to get amounts of wood are causing more harm to the economy and overpower the amount of money spent by people employed in logging.<ref>, December 4, 2007</ref> According to a study, "in most areas studied, the various ventures that prompted deforestation rarely generated more than US$5 for every ton of carbon they released and frequently returned far less than US$1". The price on the European market for an offset tied to a one-ton reduction in carbon is 23 ] (about US$35).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asb.cgiar.org/News/default.asp?a=%7B580BF3A6-9A50-4162-B059-80CF00046F24%7D|title=New ASB Report finds deforestation offers very little money compared to potential financial benefits at ASB.CGIAR.org}}</ref>


=== Military causes ===
Rapidly growing economies also have an effect on deforestation. Most pressure will come from the world's developing countries, which have the fastest-growing populations and most rapid economic (industrial) growth.<ref name="autogenerated1">Kenneth Chomitz. "Roads, lands, markets, and deforestation : a spatial model of land use in Belize." 04/30/95.</ref> In 1995, economic growth in developing countries reached nearly 6%, compared with the 2% growth rate for developed countries.”<ref name="autogenerated1"/> As our human population grows, new homes, communities, and expansions of cities will occur. Connecting all of the new expansions will be roads, a very important part in our daily life. Rural roads promote economic development but also facilitate deforestation.<ref name="autogenerated1"/> About 90% of the deforestation has occurred within 100 km of roads in most parts of the Amazon.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite journal|title=Using indicators of deforestation and land-use dynamics to support conservation strategies: A case study of central Rondônia, Brazil|doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2009.01.013|year=2009|last1=Ferraz|first1=Silvio Frosini de Barros|last2=Vettorazzi|first2=Carlos Alberto|last3=Theobald|first3=David M.|journal=Forest Ecology and Management|volume=257|issue=7|pages=1586}}</ref>
{{See also|Environmental impact of war}}
] ] spraying ] during the ]]]
Operations in ] can also cause deforestation. For example, in the 1945 ], ] and other ] reduced a lush tropical landscape into "a vast field of mud, lead, decay and maggots".<ref>Higa, Takejiro. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720144740/http://nisei.hawaii.edu/object/11_takejiro.html|date=20 July 2011}}, The Hawaii Nisei Project</ref>


Deforestation can also result from the intentional ] of ]. ] forests became an element in the Russian Empire's successful ] in the mid-19th century.<ref>
==Forest transition theory==
{{cite book|last1=Arreguín-Toft|first1=Ivan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gbweTAoZ_3YC|title=How the Weak Win Wars: A Theory of Asymmetric Conflict|date=8 December 2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521839761|series=Cambridge Studies in International Relations|volume=99|location=Cambridge|page=61|quote= Voronzov then set about organizing a more methodical destruction of Shamil and the subsequent conquest of the Caucasus. Over the next decade, this involved nothing more complicated or less deadly than the deforestation of Chechnia.|access-date=17 June 2018}}
]
</ref>
The forest area change may follow a pattern suggested by the ] (FT) theory,<ref name="MeyfroidtLambin2011">Meyfroidt, P., Lambin, E.F. 2011. Global Forest Transition: Prospects for an End to Deforestation. ''Annual Review of Environment and Resources 36: 343-371</ref> whereby at early stages in its development a country is characterized by high forest cover and low deforestation rates (HFLD countries).<ref name=rud/>
The British (during the ]) and the United States (in the ]<ref>{{Cite news|date=29 May 2011|title=DEFOLIANT DEVELOPED BY US WAS FOR KOREAN WAR|work=States News Services}}</ref> and in the ]) used ]s (like ] or others).<ref>{{cite book|title=Pesticide Dilemma in the Third World: A Case Study of Malaysia|publisher=Phoenix Press|year=1984|page=23}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwo0000unse|title=Encyclopedia of World Environmental History|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=978-0-415-93732-0|editor-last=Krech III|editor-first=Shepard|editor2-last=Merchant|editor2-first=Carolyn|editor3-last=McNeill|editor3-first=John Robert}}</ref><ref>
{{cite book|author=Marchak, M. Patricia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oi-xLllDK8oC&pg=PA157|title=Logging the globe|date=18 September 1995|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-1346-4|pages=157–|access-date=4 December 2011}}
</ref>{{request quotation|date=June 2018}} The destruction of forests in Vietnam War is one of the most commonly used examples of ], including by Swedish Prime Minister ], lawyers, historians and other academics.<ref name="Zierler-2011">{{Cite book|last=Zierler|first=David|title=The invention of ecocide: agent orange, Vietnam, and the scientists who changed the way we think about the environment|date=2011|publisher=Univ. of Georgia Press|isbn=978-0-8203-3827-9|location=Athens, Ga.}}</ref><ref name="Falk-1973">{{Cite journal|last=Falk|first=Richard A.|date=1973|title=Environmental Warfare and Ecocide — Facts, Appraisal, and Proposals|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44480206|journal=Bulletin of Peace Proposals|volume=4|issue=1|pages=80–96|doi=10.1177/096701067300400105|issn=0007-5035|jstor=44480206|s2cid=144885326}}</ref><ref name="Giovanni-2022">{{Cite journal|last=Giovanni|first=Chiarini|date=2022-04-01|title=Ecocide: From the Vietnam War to International Criminal Jurisdiction? Procedural Issues In-Between Environmental Science, Climate Change, and Law|url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4072727|journal=Cork Online Law Review|language=en|ssrn=4072727}}</ref>


== Impacts ==
Then deforestation rates accelerate (HFHD, high forest cover – high deforestation rate), and forest cover is reduced (LFHD, low forest cover – high deforestation rate), before the deforestation rate slows (LFLD, low forest cover – low deforestation rate), after which forest cover stabilizes and eventually starts recovering. FT is not a “law of nature,” and the pattern is influenced by national context (for example, human population density, stage of development, structure of the economy), global economic forces, and government policies. A country may reach very low levels of forest cover before it stabilizes, or it might through good policies be able to “bridge” the forest transition.


=== On atmosphere and climate ===
FT depicts a broad trend, and an extrapolation of historical rates therefore tends to underestimate future BAU deforestation for counties at the early stages in the transition (HFLD), while it tends to overestimate BAU deforestation for countries at the later stages (LFHD and LFLD).
{{further|Deforestation and climate change}}
]
]
]" practice in ], 2010]]
]
Deforestation is a major contributor to ].<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805131750/http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000385/index.html|date=5 August 2009}}, ]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Tropical Deforestation and Global Warming {{!}} Union of Concerned Scientists|url=https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/tropical-deforestation-and-global-warming|access-date=2022-11-01|website=www.ucsusa.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ripple|first1=William J.|author-link1=William J. Ripple|last2=Wolf|first2=Christopher|last3= van Vuuren|first3=Detlef P.|last4=Gregg|first4= Jillian W.|last5=Lenzen|first5=Manfred|date=January 9, 2024|title=An environmental and socially just climate mitigation pathway for a planet in peril|journal=]|volume=19|issue=2|pages=021001|doi=10.1088/1748-9326/ad059e|quote= ...land use change, particularly deforestation (driven by agricultural land expansion and wood demand), has also been one of the major contributors to climate change.|doi-access=free|bibcode=2024ERL....19b1001R}}</ref> It is often cited as one of the major causes of the enhanced ]. Recent calculations suggest that CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (excluding ] emissions) contribute about 12% of total anthropogenic CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, with a range from 6% to 17%.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Van Der Werf|first1=G. R.|last2=Morton|first2=D. C.|last3=Defries|first3=R. S.|last4=Olivier|first4=J. G. J.|last5=Kasibhatla|first5=P. S.|last6=Jackson|first6=R. B.|last7=Collatz|first7=G. J.|last8=Randerson|first8=J. T.|year=2009|title=CO<sub>2</sub> emissions from forest loss|journal=Nature Geoscience|volume=2|issue=11|pages=737–738|bibcode=2009NatGe...2..737V|doi=10.1038/ngeo671|s2cid=129188479}}</ref> A 2022 study shows annual carbon emissions from tropical deforestation have doubled during the last two decades and continue to increase: by 0.97 ± 0.16 PgC (]s of carbon, i.e. billions of tons) per year in 2001–2005 to 1.99 ± 0.13 PgC per year in 2015–2019.<ref>{{cite news|date=28 February 2022|title=Deforestation emissions far higher than previously thought, study finds|language=en|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/28/deforestation-emissions-far-higher-than-previously-thought-study-finds-aoe|access-date=16 March 2022}}</ref><ref name="10.1038/s41893-022-00854-3" />


According to a review, north of 50°N, large scale deforestation leads to an overall net global cooling; but deforestation in the tropics leads to substantial warming: not just due to {{CO2}} impacts, but also due to other biophysical mechanisms (making carbon-centric metrics inadequate). Moreover, it suggests that standing tropical forests help cool the average global temperature by more than 1&nbsp;°C.<ref>{{cite news|date=24 March 2022|title=Forests help reduce global warming in more ways than one|work=Science News|url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/forest-trees-reduce-global-warming-climate-cooling-carbon|access-date=19 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="10.3389/ffgc.2022.756115/full" /> According to a later study, deforestation in northern latitudes can also increase warming, while the conclusion about cooling from deforestation in these areas made by previous studies results from the failure of models to properly capture the effects of evapotranspiration.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=M. Makarieva |first1=Anastassia |last2=V. Nefiodov |first2=Andrei |last3=Rammig |first3=Anja |last4=Donato Nobre |first4=Antonio |title=Re-appraisal of the global climatic role of natural forests for improved climate projections and policies |journal=Frontiers in Forests and Global Change |date=20 July 2023 |volume=6 |doi=10.3389/ffgc.2023.1150191 |doi-access=free |arxiv=2301.09998 |bibcode=2023FrFGC...650191M }}</ref>
Countries with high forest cover can be expected to be at early stages of the FT. GDP per capita captures the stage in a country’s economic development, which is linked to the pattern of natural resource use, including forests. The choice of forest cover and GDP per capita also fits well with the two key scenarios in the FT:


The incineration and burning of forest plants to clear land releases large amounts of CO<sub>2</sub>, which contributes to global warming.<ref name="Fearnidel">{{cite journal|last1=Fearnside|first1=Philip M.|last2=Laurance|first2=William F.|year=2004|title=Tropical Deforestation and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions|journal=Ecological Applications|volume=14|issue=4|pages=982|doi=10.1890/03-5225|bibcode=2004EcoAp..14..982F}}</ref> Scientists also state that tropical deforestation releases 1.5 billion tons of carbon each year into the atmosphere.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite journal|last1=Defries|first1=Ruth|last2=Achard|first2=Frédéric|last3=Brown|first3=Sandra|last4=Herold|first4=Martin|last5=Murdiyarso|first5=Daniel|last6=Schlamadinger|first6=Bernhard|last7=De Souza|first7=Carlos|year=2007|title=Earth observations for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation in developing countries|url=http://www.gofc-gold.uni-jena.de/documents/other/EO_for_GHG_emissions.pdf|url-status=dead|journal=Environmental Science Policy|volume=10|issue=4|pages=385–394|doi=10.1016/j.envsci.2007.01.010|bibcode=2007ESPol..10..385D|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118225748/http://www.gofc-gold.uni-jena.de/documents/other/EO_for_GHG_emissions.pdf|archive-date=18 January 2012}}</ref>
(i) a forest scarcity path, where forest scarcity triggers forces (for example, higher prices of forest products) that lead to forest cover stabilization; and


==== Carbon sink or source ====
(ii) an economic development path, where new and better off-farm employment opportunities associated with economic growth (= increasing GDP per capita) reduce profitability of frontier agriculture and slows deforestation.<ref name=rud/>
{{See also|Carbon sequestration|Carbon sink|Biomass (energy)#Climate impacts}}
A study suggests logged and structurally degraded tropical forests are ] for at least a decade – even when recovering{{clarify|date=February 2023|reason=does this include reforestation like the news article suggests?}} – due to larger carbon losses ] and deadwood, indicating that the tropical forest ] (at least in South Asia) "may be much smaller than previously estimated", <!--with potential implications on offsetting, the importance of deforestation prevention, and contemporary e.g. logging-and-reforestation practices-->contradicting that "recovering logged and degraded tropical forests are net carbon sinks".<!--https://www.derstandard.at/story/2000142385381/nachwachsender-regenwald-gibt-mehr-co2-frei-als-er-bindet--><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Mills|first1=Maria B.|last2=Malhi|first2=Yadvinder|last3=Ewers|first3=Robert M.|last4=Kho|first4=Lip Khoon|last5=Teh|first5=Yit Arn|last6=Both|first6=Sabine|last7=Burslem|first7=David F. R. P.|last8=Majalap|first8=Noreen|last9=Nilus|first9=Reuben|last10=Huaraca Huasco|first10=Walter|last11=Cruz|first11=Rudi|last12=Pillco|first12=Milenka M.|last13=Turner|first13=Edgar C.|last14=Reynolds|first14=Glen|last15=Riutta|first15=Terhi|date=17 January 2023|title=Tropical forests post-logging are a persistent net carbon source to the atmosphere|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=120|issue=3|pages=e2214462120|bibcode=2023PNAS..12014462M|doi=10.1073/pnas.2214462120|issn=0027-8424|pmc=9934015|pmid=36623189|doi-access=free}}</ref>], 2006. People use ] deforestation to clear land for agriculture.]]


{{excerpt|Carbon sequestration#Forestry}}
==Historical causes==
{{Further|Timeline of environmental events}}


===Prehistory=== === On the environment ===
According to a 2020 study, if deforestation continues at current rates it can trigger a total or almost total ] in the next 20 to 40 years. They conclude that "from a statistical point of view... the probability that our civilisation survives itself is less than 10% in the most optimistic scenario." To avoid this collapse, humanity should pass from a civilization dominated by the economy to "cultural society" that "privileges the interest of the ecosystem above the individual interest of its components, but eventually in accordance with the overall communal interest."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nafeez|first1=Ahmed|date=28 July 2020|title=Theoretical Physicists Say 90% Chance of Societal Collapse Within Several Decades|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/akzn5a/theoretical-physicists-say-90-chance-of-societal-collapse-within-several-decades|access-date=9 August 2020|website=Vice}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bologna|first1=M.|last2=Aquino|first2=G.|date=2020|title=Deforestation and world population sustainability: a quantitative analysis|url=|journal=Scientific Reports|volume=10|issue=7631|page=7631|arxiv=2006.12202|bibcode=2020NatSR..10.7631B|doi=10.1038/s41598-020-63657-6|pmc=7203172|pmid=32376879}}</ref>
The ],<ref name="SahneyBentonFalconLang 2010RainforestCollapse"/> was an event that occurred 300 million years ago. Climate change devastated tropical rainforests causing the extinction of many plant and animal species. The change was abrupt, specifically, at this time climate became cooler and drier, conditions that are not favourable to the growth of rainforests and much of the biodiversity within them. Rainforests were fragmented forming shrinking 'islands' further and further apart. This sudden collapse affected several large groups, effects on amphibians were particularly devastating, while reptiles fared better, being ecologically adapted to the drier conditions that followed.


==== Changes to the water cycle ====
]
The ] is also affected by deforestation. Trees extract ] through their roots and release it into the atmosphere. When part of a forest is removed, the trees no longer transpire this water, resulting in a much ]. Deforestation reduces the content of water in the soil and groundwater as well as atmospheric moisture. The dry soil leads to lower water intake for the trees to extract.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wrm.org.uy/deforestation/UNreport.html|title=Underlying Causes of Deforestation|work=UN Secretary-General’s Report|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010411092448/http://wrm.org.uy/deforestation/UNreport.html|archive-date=11 April 2001}}</ref> Deforestation reduces soil cohesion, so that ], flooding and ]s ensue.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://people.uwec.edu/jolhm/eh2/rogge/index.htm|author=Rogge, Daniel|work=University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire|title=Deforestation and Landslides in Southwestern Washington}}</ref><ref> BBC News. 6 August 1999.</ref>
Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years.<ref>Leslie Taylor. "The Healing Power of Rainforests."</ref>
Small scale deforestation was practiced by some societies for tens of thousands of years before the beginnings of civilization.<ref name=FutureEaters>{{Cite book|last=Flannery|first=T|year=1994 |title=The future eaters |publisher=Reed Books |place=Melbourne|isbn=0-7301-0422-2}}</ref> The first evidence of deforestation appears in the ].<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1111/1468-0092.00030|last1=Brown|url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119153736/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0|first1=Tony |title=Clearances and Clearings: Deforestation in Mesolithic/Neolithic Britain|journal=Oxford Journal of Archaeology|volume=16|page=133|year=1997|issue=2}}</ref> It was probably used to convert closed forests into more open ecosystems favourable to game animals.<ref name=FutureEaters/> With the advent of agriculture, larger areas began to be deforested, and fire became the prime tool to clear land for crops. In Europe there is little solid evidence before 7000 BC. Mesolithic ] used fire to create openings for ] and ]. In Great Britain, shade-tolerant species such as ] and ] are replaced in the ] by ]s, brambles, grasses and nettles. Removal of the forests led to decreased ], resulting in the formation of upland ]s. Widespread decrease in ] ] across Europe between 8400–8300 BC and 7200–7000 BC, starting in southern Europe and gradually moving north to Great Britain, may represent land clearing by fire at the onset of ] agriculture.


Shrinking ] lessens the landscape's capacity to intercept, retain and ] precipitation. Instead of trapping precipitation, which then percolates to groundwater systems, deforested areas become sources of surface water runoff, which moves much faster than subsurface flows. Forests return most of the water that falls as precipitation to the atmosphere by transpiration. In contrast, when an area is deforested, almost all precipitation is lost as run-off.<ref>Raven, P. H. and Berg, L. R. (2006) ''Environment'', 5th ed, John Wiley & Sons. p. 406. {{ISBN|0471704385}}.</ref> That quicker transport of surface water can translate into ]ing and more localized floods than would occur with the forest cover. Deforestation also contributes to decreased ], which lessens atmospheric moisture which in some cases affects precipitation levels downwind from the deforested area, as water is not recycled to downwind forests, but is lost in runoff and returns directly to the oceans. According to one study, in deforested north and northwest China, the average annual precipitation decreased by one third between the 1950s and the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Economic Costs of China's Environmental Degradation: Project on Environmental Scarcities, State Capacity, and Civil Violence, a Joint Project of the University of Toronto and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences|chapter-url = http://www.library.utoronto.ca/pcs/state/chinaeco/forest.htm|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091230071928/http://www.library.utoronto.ca/pcs/state/chinaeco/forest.htm|url-status = dead|archive-date = 30 December 2009|publisher = Committee on Internat. Security Studies, American Acad. of Arts and Sciences|date = 1 January 1998|first = Wang|last = Hongchang|chapter = Deforestation and Desiccation in China A Preliminary Study|editor-last = Schwartz|editor-first = Jonathan Matthew}}</ref>
The ] saw extensive deforestation for ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/254115/hand-tool/39205/Neolithic-tools|title=hand tool: Neolithic tools|work=Encyclopædia Britannica Online}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.archaeolink.co.uk/Neolithic-Age.html|title=Neolithic Age from 4,000 BC to 2,200 BC or New Stone Age}}</ref> Stone axes were being made from about 3000 BC not just from flint, but from a wide variety of hard rocks from across Britain and North America as well. They include the noted ] in the ], quarries developed at ] in ] and numerous other locations. Rough-outs were made locally near the quarries, and some were polished locally to give a fine finish. This step not only increased the ] of the axe, but also made penetration of wood easier. ] was still used from sources such as ] but from many other mines across Europe.


] in Madagascar has led to extensive ] and unstable flows of western rivers.]]
Evidence of deforestation has been found in ] ]; for example the environs of the ] were severely deforested in the ].<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2007. , ''The Modern Antiquarian''</ref>
Trees, and plants in general, affect the ] significantly:<ref name="Mishra-2010" />
* their canopies intercept a proportion of ], which is then evaporated back to the atmosphere (]);
* their litter, stems and trunks slow down ];
* their roots create ]s – large conduits – in the soil that increase ] of water;
* they contribute to terrestrial evaporation and reduce ] via ];
* their ] and other organic residue change soil properties that affect the capacity of soil to store water.
* their leaves control the ] of the atmosphere by ]. 99% of the water absorbed by the roots moves up to the leaves and is transpired.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121125074838/http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ageng/irrigate/eb66w.htm |date=25 November 2012 }} North Dakota State University.</ref>
As a result, the presence or absence of trees can change the quantity of water on the surface, in the soil or groundwater, or in the atmosphere. This in turn changes erosion rates and the availability of water for either ecosystem functions or human services. Deforestation on lowland plains moves cloud formation and rainfall to higher elevations.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ray|first1=Deepak K.|last2=Nair|first2=Udaysankar S.|last3=Lawton|first3=Robert O.|last4=Welch|first4=Ronald M.|last5=Pielke|first5=Roger A.|title=Impact of land use on Costa Rican tropical montane cloud forests: Sensitivity of orographic cloud formation to deforestation in the plains|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|date=2006|volume=111|issue=D2|pages=D02108|doi=10.1029/2005JD006096|bibcode=2006JGRD..111.2108R|doi-access=free}}</ref>


The forest may have little impact on flooding in the case of large rainfall events, which overwhelm the storage capacity of forest soil if the soils are at or close to saturation.
===Pre-industrial history===
Throughout most of history, humans were hunter gatherers who hunted within forests. In most areas, such as the ], the tropics, Central America, and the Caribbean,<ref>. School.eb.com. Retrieved on 2010-08-29.</ref> only after shortages of wood and other forest products occur are policies implemented to ensure forest resources are used in a sustainable manner.


]s produce about 30% of Earth's ].<ref name="The Times">{{Cite news|date=8 October 2006|title=How can you save the rain forest. 8 October 2006. Frank Field|work=The Times|location=London|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article664544.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517091952/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article664544.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 May 2008|access-date=1 April 2010}}</ref>
In ], Tjeered van Andel and co-writers<ref>{{cite journal|author=Tjeerd H. van Andel, Eberhard Zangger, Anne Demitrack|title=Land Use and Soil Erosion in Prehistoric and Historical Greece|journal=Journal of Field Archaeology|pages= 379–396|url=http://www.esf.edu/cue/documents/vanAndel-etal_LandUse-HistoricGreece_1990.pdf|doi=10.1179/009346990791548628}}</ref> summarized three regional studies of historic erosion and alluviation and found that, wherever adequate evidence exists, a major phase of erosion follows, by about 500-1,000 years the introduction of farming in the various regions of Greece, ranging from the later Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. The thousand years following the mid-first millennium BC saw serious, intermittent pulses of soil erosion in numerous places. The historic ] of ports along the southern coasts of ] (''e.g.'' ], and the examples of ], ] and ], where harbors had to be abandoned because of the silt deposited by the Meander) and in coastal ] during the last centuries BC.
]
] has suffered from heavy ] in recent centuries, aggravated by agriculture and deforestation.<ref>, ''Smithsonian Magazine'', April 01, 2007</ref> ] gives an extensive look into the collapse of the ancient Easter Islanders in his book '']''. The disappearance of the island's trees seems to coincide with a decline of its civilization around the 17th and 18th century. He attributed the collapse to deforestation and over-exploitation of all resources.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mongabay.com/09easter_island.htm|title=Historical Consequences of Deforestation: Easter Island}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/24/042.html|title=Jared Diamond, Easter Island's End}}</ref>


Deforestation disrupts normal weather patterns creating hotter and drier weather thus increasing drought, desertification, crop failures, melting of the polar ice caps, ] and displacement of major vegetation regimes.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Deforestation as a major threat|url=https://www.daily-sun.com/printversion/details/465873/Deforestation-as-a-major-threat|access-date=2022-02-26|work=Daily Sun|type=Opinion|language=en}}</ref>
The famous silting up of the harbor for ], which moved port commerce to ], also followed a period of increased settlement growth (and apparently of deforestation) in the upper river basins. In early medieval ] in upper ], alluvial silt from two small rivers raised the riverbeds and widened the floodplain, which slowly buried the Roman settlement in alluvium and gradually moved new construction to higher ground; concurrently the headwater valleys above Riez were being opened to pasturage.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}


==== Soil erosion ====
A typical ] was that cities were often built in a forested area, which would provide wood for some industry (for example, construction, shipbuilding, pottery). When deforestation occurs without proper replanting, however; local wood supplies become difficult to obtain near enough to remain competitive, leading to the city's abandonment, as happened repeatedly in Ancient ]. Because of fuel needs, mining and metallurgy often led to deforestation and city abandonment.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}
].]]
Due to surface ], forests that are undisturbed have a minimal rate of ]. The rate of erosion occurs from deforestation, because it decreases the amount of litter cover, which provides protection from ].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Soil Erosion and Conservation|last=Morgan|first=R.P.C|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2009|isbn=9781405144674|pages=343}}</ref> The rate of erosion is around 2 metric tons per square kilometre.<ref name="Homestead">{{Cite book|title=21st Century Homestead: Sustainable Agriculture III: Agricultural Practices|last=Henkel|first=Marlon|date=22 February 2015|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=9781312939752|pages=110}}{{self-published source|date=February 2020}}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=February 2020}} This can be an advantage in excessively leached tropical rain forest soils. Forestry operations themselves also increase erosion through the ] (]) ]s and the use of mechanized equipment.<ref name="IPCC_AR6" />


Deforestation in China's Loess Plateau many years ago has led to soil erosion; this erosion has led to valleys opening up. The increase of soil in the runoff causes the Yellow River to flood and makes it yellow-colored.<ref name="Homestead" />
With most of the population remaining active in (or indirectly dependent on) the agricultural sector, the main pressure in most areas remained land clearing for crop and cattle farming. Enough wild green was usually left standing (and partially used, for example, to collect firewood, timber and fruits, or to graze pigs) for wildlife to remain viable. The elite's (nobility and higher clergy) protection of their own hunting privileges and game often protected significant woodlands.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}


Greater erosion is not always a consequence of deforestation, as observed in the southwestern regions of the US. In these areas, the loss of grass due to the presence of trees and other shrubbery leads to more erosion than when trees are removed.<ref name="Homestead" />
Major parts in the spread (and thus more durable growth) of the population were played by monastical 'pioneering' (especially by the ] and ] orders) and some ] lords' recruiting farmers to settle (and become tax payers) by offering relatively good legal and fiscal conditions. Even when speculators sought to encourage towns, settlers needed an agricultural belt around or sometimes within defensive walls. When populations were quickly decreased by causes such as the ] or devastating warfare (for example, ]'s ] hordes in eastern and central Europe, ] in Germany), this could lead to settlements being abandoned. The land was reclaimed by nature, but the ]s usually lacked the original ].
] c.1820-1825]]
From 1100 to 1500 AD, significant deforestation took place in ] as a result of the ]. The large-scale building of wooden sailing ships by European (coastal) naval owners since the 15th century for exploration, ], ]–and other trade on the high seas consumed many forest resources. ] also contributed to the over harvesting of forests, as in Spain. This led to a weakening of the domestic economy after Columbus' discovery of America, as the economy became dependent on colonial activities (plundering, mining, cattle, plantations, trade, etc.){{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}


Soils are reinforced by the presence of trees, which secure the soil by binding their roots to soil bedrock. Due to deforestation, the removal of trees causes sloped lands to be more susceptible to ]<ref name="Mishra-2010">{{Cite book|title=Fundamental Concept in Environmental Studies|last=Mishra|first=D.D.|publisher=S. Chand Publishing|year=2010|isbn=978-8121929370|pages=14–15}}</ref>
In ''Changes in the Land'' (1983), ] analyzed and documented 17th-century English colonists' reports of increased seasonal flooding in ] during the period when new settlers initially cleared the forests for agriculture. They believed flooding was linked to widespread forest clearing upstream.


==== Other changes to the soil ====
The massive use of ] on an industrial scale in ] was a new type of consumption of western forests; even in Stuart England, the relatively primitive production of charcoal has already reached an impressive level. Stuart England was so widely deforested that it depended on the ] trade for ship timbers, and looked to the untapped forests of ] to supply the need. Each of Nelson's ] war ships at Trafalgar (1805) required 6,000 mature oaks for its construction. In France, ] planted ] forests to supply the French navy in the future. When the oak plantations matured in the mid-19th century, the masts were no longer required because shipping had changed.
Clearing forests changes the environment of the ], and causes a ] in regards to the microbes since biodiversity is actually highly dependent on ].<ref name="YaleNews-2014">{{Cite news|date=2014-04-01|title=Deforestation of sandy soils a greater threat to climate change|language=en|work=YaleNews|url=https://news.yale.edu/2014/04/01/deforestation-sandy-soils-greater-threat-climate-change|access-date=2018-02-09}}</ref> Although the effect of deforestation has much more profound consequences on sandier soils compared to clay-like soils, the disruptions caused by deforestation ultimately reduces properties of soil such as ] and water storage, thus reducing the efficiency of water and heat absorption.<ref name="YaleNews-2014" /><ref name="Shukla-1990">{{Cite journal|last1=Shukla|first1=J.|last2=Nobre|first2=C.|last3=Sellers|first3=P.|date=1990-03-16|title=Amazon Deforestation and Climate Change|journal=Science|language=en|volume=247|issue=4948|pages=1322–1325|bibcode=1990Sci...247.1322S|doi=10.1126/science.247.4948.1322|issn=0036-8075|pmid=17843795|s2cid=8361418|hdl-access=free|hdl=10535/2838}}</ref> In a simulation of the deforestation process in the Amazon, researchers found that surface and soil temperatures increased by 1 to 3 degrees Celsius demonstrating the loss of the soil's ability to absorb radiation and moisture.<ref name="Shukla-1990" /> Furthermore, soils that are rich in organic decay matter are more susceptible to fire, especially during long droughts.<ref name="YaleNews-2014" />


Changes in soil properties could turn the soil itself into a ] rather than a ].<ref name="Rebecca-2007">{{Cite web|last=Rebecca|first=Lindsey|date=2007-03-30|title=Tropical Deforestation: Feature Articles|url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Deforestation/deforestation_update2.php|access-date=2018-02-09|website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov|language=en}}</ref>
]'s summary of the effects of late medieval deforestation applies equally well to Early Modern Europe:<ref>{{cite book|author=Norman F. Cantor|title=The civilization of the Middle Ages: a completely revised and expanded edition of Medieval history, the life and death of a civilization|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=0qiYM2_HhJgC|accessdate=4 December 2011|date=9 June 1994|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-092553-6|pages=564}}</ref>
{{Quote|Europeans had lived in the midst of vast forests throughout the earlier medieval centuries. After 1250 they became so skilled at deforestation that by 1500 they were running short of wood for heating and cooking. They were faced with a nutritional decline because of the elimination of the generous supply of wild game that had inhabited the now-disappearing forests, which throughout medieval times had provided the staple of their carnivorous high-protein diet. By 1500 Europe was on the edge of a fuel and nutritional disaster which it was saved in the sixteenth century only by the burning of soft coal and the cultivation of potatoes and maize.}}


==== Biodiversity loss ====
==Industrial era==
{{Further|Biodiversity loss}}
In the 19th century, introduction of ]s in the United States was the cause of deforestation of banks of major rivers, such as the ], with increased and more severe flooding one of the environmental results. The steamboat crews cut wood every day from the riverbanks to fuel the steam engines. Between ] and the confluence with the ] to the south, the Mississippi became more wide and shallow, and changed its channel laterally. Attempts to improve navigation by the use of ] often resulted in crews' clearing large trees 100 to {{convert|200|ft|m}} back from the banks. Several French colonial towns of the ], such as ], ] and St. Philippe, ] were flooded and abandoned in the late 19th century, with a loss to the cultural record of their ].<ref>F. Terry Norris, , in ''Common Fields: an environmental history of St. Louis'', Andrew Hurley, ed., St. Louis, MO: Missouri Historical Society Press, 1997, ISBN 978-1-883982-15-7 pp. 73–89</ref>
Deforestation on a human scale results in decline in ],<ref>Nilsson, Sten (March 2001). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607205907/http://www.actionbioscience.org/environment/nilsson.html|date=7 June 2019}}, American Institute of Biological Sciences.</ref> and on a natural global scale is known to cause the extinction of many species.<ref name="Benton">{{cite journal|author=Sahney, S.|author2=Benton, M.J.|author3=Falcon-Lang, H.J.|name-list-style=amp|year=2010|title=Rainforest collapse triggered Pennsylvanian tetrapod diversification in Euramerica|journal=Geology|volume=38|issue=12|pages=1079–1082|bibcode=2010Geo....38.1079S|doi=10.1130/G31182.1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Lewis|first=Sophie|date=September 9, 2020|title=Animal populations worldwide have declined by almost 70% in just 50 years, new report says|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biodiversity-endangered-species-animal-population-decline-world-wildlife-fund-report-2020-09-09/|work=]|access-date=September 10, 2020|quote="The report points to land-use change — in particular, the destruction of habitats like rainforests for farming — as the key driver for loss of biodiversity, accounting for more than half of the loss in Europe, Central Asia, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean."}}</ref> The removal or destruction of areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced ].<ref name="r1" /> Forests support biodiversity, providing habitat for ];<ref>, ScienceDaily, 14 August 2007.</ref> moreover, forests foster ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bmbf.de/en/12484.php|work=Research for Biodiversity Editorial Office|title=Medicine from the rainforest|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206015033/http://www.bmbf.de/en/12484.php|archive-date=6 December 2008}}</ref> With forest ]s being irreplaceable source of new drugs (such as ]), deforestation can destroy ] variations (such as crop resistance) irretrievably.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090814233654/http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-1/Single-largest-biodiversity-survey-says-primary-rainforest-is-irreplaceable-1218-1/|date=14 August 2009}}, Bio-Medicine, 14 November 2007.</ref>
]. In 2009, the vast majority of the illegally obtained ] was exported to ].]]
Since the tropical rainforests are the most diverse ]s on Earth<ref>, BBC</ref><ref>. thinkquest.org</ref> and about 80% of the world's known ] can be found in tropical rainforests,<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924134044/http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/06/20/us-philippines-biodiversity-idUSMAN18800220080620|date=24 September 2015}}, Reuters, 20 June 2008.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rain-tree.com/facts.htm|title=Facts and information on the Amazon Rainforest|website=www.rain-tree.com}}</ref> removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a ]<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213160024/http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/ecosystems/ecosystemsrainforestrev4.shtml|date=13 February 2009}}, BBC</ref> environment with reduced biodiversity.<ref name="Benton" /><ref>Butler, Rhett A. (2 July 2007) , mongabay.com,</ref> Road construction and development of adjacent land, which greatly reduces the area of intact wilderness and causes soil erosion, is a major contributing factor to the loss of biodiversity in tropical regions.<ref name="IPCC_AR6">{{cite report|url=https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_Chapter07.pdf|chapter=Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Uses (AFOLU)|author1=Nabuurs, G-J.|author2=R. Mrabet|author3=A. Abu Hatab|author4=M. Bustamante|author5= H. Clark|author6=P. Havlík|author7=J. House|author8=C. Mbow|author9=K.N. Ninan|author10=A. Popp|author11=S. Roe|author12=B. Sohngen|author13=S. Towprayoon|title= Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change|date=2022|publisher= Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/9781009157926.009|pages=768–769|isbn=9781009157926}}</ref> A study in ], Brazil, has shown that deforestation also removes the microbial community which is involved in the recycling of nutrients, the production of clean water and the removal of pollutants.<ref name="ro">{{cite web|last=Flowers|first=April|title=Deforestation in the Amazon Affects Microbial Life As Well As Ecosystems|url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112753888/amazon-deforestation-microbial-communities-122512/|work=Science News|publisher=Redorbit.com|access-date=12 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502223155/http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112753888/amazon-deforestation-microbial-communities-122512/|archive-date=2 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>


It has been estimated that 137 plant, animal and insect species go extinct every day due to rainforest deforestation, which equates to 50,000 species a year.<ref name="rain-tree.com">. Rain-tree.com (20 March 2010). Retrieved 29 August 2010.</ref> Others state that tropical rainforest deforestation is contributing to the ongoing ].<ref>Leakey, Richard and Roger Lewin, 1996, ''The Sixth Extinction : Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind'', Anchor, {{ISBN|0-385-46809-1}}.</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110912071556/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/the-great-rainforest-tragedy-542135.html|date=12 September 2011}}, The Independent, 28 June 2003.</ref> The known extinction rates from deforestation rates are very low, approximately one species per year from mammals and birds, which extrapolates to approximately 23,000 species per year for all species. Predictions have been made that more than 40% of the animal and ] in ] could be wiped out in the 21st century.<ref>, New Scientist, 23 July 2003.</ref> Such predictions were called into question by 1995 data that show that within regions of Southeast Asia much of the original forest has been converted to monospecific plantations, but that potentially endangered species are few and tree flora remains widespread and stable.<ref name="ReferenceB" />
The wholescale clearance of woodland to create agricultural land can be seen in many parts of the world, such as the ] and other areas of the ] of the ]. Specific parallels are seen in the 20th-century deforestation occurring in many developing nations.
] (dark green) and temperate/subtropical (light green) ]s in the world]]
Scientific understanding of the process of extinction is insufficient to accurately make predictions about the impact of deforestation on biodiversity.<ref>{{cite journal|year = 1995|title = The future of biodiversity|journal = Science|volume = 269|issue = 5222|pages = 347–50|doi = 10.1126/science.269.5222.347|pmid=17841251|last1 = Pimm|first1 = S. L.|last2 = Russell|first2 = G. J.|last3 = Gittleman|first3 = J. L.|last4 = Brooks|first4 = T. M.|bibcode = 1995Sci...269..347P|s2cid = 35154695}}</ref> Most predictions of forestry related biodiversity loss are based on species-area models, with an underlying assumption that as the forest declines species diversity will decline similarly.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book|author1=Whitmore, Timothy Charles|author2=Sayer, Jeffrey|author3=International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. General Assembly|author4=IUCN Forest Conservation Programme|title=Tropical deforestation and species extinction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Et4opq8dn4MC|date=15 February 1992|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-412-45520-9}}</ref> However, many such models have been proven to be wrong and ] does not necessarily lead to large scale loss of species.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Species-area models are known to overpredict the number of species known to be threatened in areas where actual deforestation is ongoing, and greatly overpredict the number of threatened species that are widespread.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.269.5222.347|title=The Future of Biodiversity|year=1995|last1=Pimm|first1=S. L.|last2=Russell|first2=G. J.|last3=Gittleman|first3=J. L.|last4=Brooks|first4=T. M.|journal=Science|volume=269|issue=5222|pages=347–350|pmid=17841251|bibcode=1995Sci...269..347P|s2cid=35154695}}</ref>


In 2012, a study of the Brazilian Amazon predicts that despite a lack of extinctions thus far, up to 90 percent of predicted extinctions will finally occur in the next 40 years.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sohn|first=Emily|title=More extinctions expected in Amazon|work=Discovery|url=http://news.discovery.com/earth/amazon-extinctions-to-come-120712.html|date=12 July 2012|access-date=13 July 2012|archive-date=7 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107175209/http://news.discovery.com/earth/amazon-extinctions-to-come-120712.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Rates of deforestation===
Global deforestation<ref>Duke Press policy studies / Global deforestation and the nineteenth-century world economy / edited by Richard P. Tucker and J. F. Richards</ref> sharply accelerated around 1852.<ref name="Wilson">], 2002, ''The Future of Life'', Vintage ISBN 0-679-76811-4</ref><ref>, guardian.co.uk, July 1, 2008</ref> It has been estimated that about half of the Earth's mature ]s—between 7.5 million and 8 million km<sup>2</sup> (2.9 million to 3 million sq mi) of the original 15 million to 16 million km<sup>2</sup> (5.8 million to 6.2 million sq mi) that until 1947 covered the planet<ref name=worldbook>Maycock, Paul F. ''''. WorldBookOnline.</ref>—have now been destroyed.<ref name="Rainforest Facts"/><ref name="Nielsen">Ron Nielsen, ''The Little Green Handbook: Seven Trends Shaping the Future of Our Planet'', Picador, New York (2006) ISBN 978-0-312-42581-4</ref> Some scientists have predicted that unless significant measures (such as seeking out and protecting old growth forests that have not been disturbed)<ref name=worldbook /> are taken on a worldwide basis, by 2030 there will only be 10% remaining,<ref name="Wilson" /><ref name="Nielsen" /> with another 10% ].<ref name="Wilson" /> 80% will have been lost, and with them hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable species.<ref name="Wilson" /> Some cartographers have attempted to illustrate the sheer scale of deforestation by country using a ].<ref> Retrieved 2012-08-03.</ref>


==== Oxygen-supply misconception ====
Estimates vary widely as to the extent of tropical deforestation.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Tropical Rainforests and Agroforests Under Global Change|editors=Teja Tscharntke, Christoph Leuschner, Edzo Veldkamp, Heiko Faust, Edi Guhardja|publisher=Springer|year=2010|isbn=978-3-642-00492-6|pages=270–271| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=f-LfXBOL_7sC&pg=PA270}}</ref><ref>Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2000). '''' Cambridge University Press. {{Page needed|date=May 2009}}</ref> Scientists estimate that one fifth of the world's tropical rainforest was destroyed between 1960 and 1990{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}. They claim that that rainforests 50 years ago covered 14%{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} of the world's land surface, now only cover 5–7%, and that all tropical forests will be gone by the middle of the 21st century.<ref name="envsci-encyc-104">{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of environmental science|author1=John F. Mongillo|author2=Linda Zierdt-Warshaw|editor=Linda Zierdt-Warshaw|publisher=University of Rochester Press|year=2000|isbn=978-1-57356-147-1|page=104| url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ozAN5vLbssgC&pg=PA104}}</ref>
Rainforests are widely believed by lay persons to contribute a significant amount of the world's oxygen,<ref name="The Times" /> although it is now accepted by scientists that rainforests contribute little net ] to the ] and deforestation has only a minor effect on atmospheric oxygen levels.<ref>Broecker, Wallace S. (2006). Columbia University</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Moran|first1=Emilio F.|year=1993|title=Deforestation and land use in the Brazilian Amazon|journal=Human Ecology|volume=21|issue=1 |pages=1–21|doi=10.1007/BF00890069|bibcode=1993HumEc..21....1M |s2cid=153481315}}</ref> In fact about 50 percent of oxygen on Earth is produced by algae.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chapman|first=Russell Leonard|date=2013-01-01|title=Algae: the world's most important "plants"—an introduction|journal=Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change|language=en|volume=18|issue=1|pages=5–12|doi=10.1007/s11027-010-9255-9|bibcode=2013MASGC..18....5C|issn=1573-1596|s2cid=85214078|doi-access=free}}</ref>


=== On human health ===
A 2002 analysis of satellite imagery suggested that the rate of deforestation in the humid tropics (approximately 5.8 million hectares per year) was roughly 23% lower than the most commonly quoted rates.<ref>{{cite journal|author = Achard Frederic, Eva Hugh D, Hans- , Stibig Jurgen, Mayaux Philippe|year = 2002|title = Determination of deforestation rates of the world's humid tropical forests|journal = Science|volume = 297|issue = 5583| pages = 999–1003|pmid = 12169731|doi = 10.1126/science.1070656 }}</ref> Conversely, a newer analysis of satellite images reveals that ] is twice as fast as scientists previously estimated.<ref>Jha, Alok. . ''The Guardian''. 21 October 2005.</ref><ref>, csmonitor.com, 21 October 2005</ref>
Deforestation reduces safe working hours for millions of people in the tropics, especially for those performing heavy labour outdoors. Continued global heating and forest loss is expected to amplify these impacts, reducing work hours for vulnerable groups even more.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Quaglia |first=Sofia |date=2021-12-17 |title=Deforestation making outdoor work unsafe for millions, says study |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/17/deforestation-making-outdoor-work-unsafe-for-millions-says-study |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217163119/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/dec/17/deforestation-making-outdoor-work-unsafe-for-millions-says-study |archive-date=17 December 2021 |access-date=2021-12-18 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref> A study conducted from 2002 to 2018 also determined that the increase in temperature as a result of climate change, and the lack of shade due to deforestation, has increased the ] of workers in ].<ref name="Wolff-2021">{{Cite journal |last1=Wolff |first1=Nicholas H. |last2=Zeppetello |first2=Lucas R. Vargas |last3=Parsons |first3=Luke A. |last4=Aggraeni |first4=Ike |last5=Battisti |first5=David S. |last6=Ebi |first6=Kristie L. |last7=Game |first7=Edward T. |last8=Kroeger |first8=Timm |last9=Masuda |first9=Yuta J. |last10=Spector |first10=June T. |date=2021-12-01 |title=The effect of deforestation and climate change on all-cause mortality and unsafe work conditions due to heat exposure in Berau, Indonesia: a modelling study |journal=The Lancet Planetary Health |language=English |volume=5 |issue=12 |pages=e882–e892 |doi=10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00279-5 |issn=2542-5196 |pmid=34774222 |s2cid=244068407 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==== Infectious diseases ====
Deforestation eliminates a great number of species of plants and animals which also often results in exposure of people to ].<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration|url=https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://doi.org/10.4060/ca9456en|title=Global emergence of infectious diseases: links with wild meat consumption, ecosystem disruption, habitat degradation and biodiversity loss|publisher=FAO|year=2020|isbn=978-92-5-132818-7|location=Rome|doi=10.4060/ca9456en|s2cid=240645073}}</ref> Forest-associated diseases include malaria, Chagas disease (also known as American trypanosomiasis), African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), leishmaniasis, Lyme disease, HIV and Ebola.<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020" /> The majority of new infectious diseases affecting humans, including the ] that caused the ], are zoonotic and their emergence may be linked to habitat loss due to forest area change and the expansion of human populations into forest areas, which both increase human exposure to wildlife.<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020" />

Deforestation has been coupled with an increase in the occurrence of disease outbreaks. In ], thousands of acres of forest have been cleared for pig farms. This has resulted in an increase in the spread of the ].<ref>. Thebulletin.org (15 February 2011). Retrieved 13 November 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lam|first1=Sai Kit|last2=Chua|first2=Kaw Bing|year=2002|title=Nipah Virus Encephalitis Outbreak in Malaysia|journal=Clinical Infectious Diseases|volume=34|pages=S48–51|doi=10.1086/338818|pmid=11938496|doi-access=free}}</ref> In ], deforestation has led to an increase in malaria cases which is now the leading cause of morbidity and mortality the country.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413022408/http://www.african-politics.com/tag/environmental-impact-of-deforestation-in-kenya/|date=13 April 2016}}. African-politics.com (28 May 2009). Retrieved 13 November 2016.</ref><ref>. Kff.org (1 May 2014). Retrieved 13 November 2016.</ref> A 2017 study found that deforestation substantially increased the incidence of malaria in Nigeria.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Julia|first1=Berazneva|last2=Byker|first2=Tanya S.|date=1 May 2017|title=Does Forest Loss Increase Human Disease? Evidence from Nigeria|journal=American Economic Review|language=en|volume=107|issue=5|pages=516–521|doi=10.1257/aer.p20171132|pmid=29557569|issn=0002-8282}}</ref>

Another pathway through which deforestation affects disease is the relocation and dispersion of disease-carrying hosts. This disease emergence pathway can be called "]", whereby the host's range (and thereby the range of pathogens) expands to new geographic areas.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Range Expansion and Population Dynamics of an Invasive Species: The Eurasian Collared-Dove (''Streptopelia decaocto'')|journal=PLOS ONE|volume=9|issue=10|pages=e111510|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0111510|pmid=25354270|year=2014|last1=Scheidt|first1=Spencer N.|last2=Hurlbert|first2=Allen H.|pmc=4213033|bibcode=2014PLoSO...9k1510S|doi-access=free}}</ref> Through deforestation, hosts and reservoir species are forced into neighboring habitats. Accompanying the reservoir species are pathogens that have the ability to find new hosts in previously unexposed regions. As these pathogens and species come into closer contact with humans, they are infected both directly and indirectly. Another example of range expansion due to deforestation and other ] habitat impacts includes the ] rodent in ].<ref>. News.mongabay.com (15 December 2010). Retrieved 13 November 2016.</ref>

According to the ], 31% of ] are linked to deforestation.<ref>{{cite book|title=Outbreak Readiness and Business Impact Protecting Lives and Livelihoods across the Global Economy|date=January 2019|publisher=World Economic Forum, Harvard Global Health Institute|page=7|url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF%20HGHI_Outbreak_Readiness_Business_Impact.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121175911/http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF%20HGHI_Outbreak_Readiness_Business_Impact.pdf|archive-date=2019-01-21|url-status=live|access-date=12 March 2020}}</ref> A publication by the ] in 2016 found that deforestation, ], and ] agriculture are among the main causes that increase the risk of ], that is diseases that pass from animals to humans.<ref name="UNEP-2016">{{cite book|title=UNEP Frontiers 2016 Report: Emerging Issues of Environmental Concern|date=2016|publisher=United Nations Environment Programme|location=Nairoby|isbn=978-92-807-3553-6|pages=18–32|url=https://environmentlive.unep.org/media/docs/assessments/UNEP_Frontiers_2016_report_emerging_issues_of_environmental_concern.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224140345/http://environmentlive.unep.org/media/docs/assessments/UNEP_Frontiers_2016_report_emerging_issues_of_environmental_concern.pdf|archive-date=2017-02-24|url-status=live|access-date=1 May 2020}} ] Text was copied from this source, which is available under a </ref>

===== COVID-19 pandemic =====
{{See also|COVID-19 pandemic|Pandemic prevention#Environmental policy and economics}}

Scientists have linked the ] to the destruction of nature, especially to deforestation, ] in general and ].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Carrington|first1=Damian|title=Pandemics result from destruction of nature, say UN and WHO|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/17/pandemics-destruction-nature-un-who-legislation-trade-green-recovery|access-date=18 June 2020|agency=The Guardian|date=17 June 2020}}</ref> According to the ] (UNEP) the ] is zoonotic, e.g., the virus passed from animals to humans. UNEP concludes that: "The most fundamental way to protect ourselves from zoonotic diseases is to prevent destruction of nature. Where ecosystems are healthy and biodiverse, they are resilient, adaptable and help to regulate diseases.<ref>{{cite web|title=Science points to causes of COVID-19|url=https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/science-points-causes-covid-19|website=United Nations Environmental Programm|date=22 May 2020|publisher=United Nations|access-date=2 June 2020}}</ref>

=== On the economy and agriculture ===
] in Malaysia]]{{Update section|reason=cites are very old|date=June 2020}}

Economic losses due to ] could reach around 317 billion dollars per year, approximately 7 times higher in comparison to the cost of all commodities produced through deforestation.<ref name="TheWorldBank">{{cite web|title=World Bank: Brazil faces $317 billion in annual losses to Amazon deforestation|url=https://8point9.com/world-bank-brazil-faces-317-billion-in-annual-losses-to-amazon-deforestation#:~:text=BRAZIL%20could%20face%20losses%20of,commodities%20taken%20from%20the%20rainforests.|access-date=30 May 2023|website=8.9ha.|date=24 May 2023|publisher=World Bank}}</ref>

The forest products industry is a large part of the economy in both developed and developing countries. Short-term economic gains made by conversion of forest to agriculture, or ] of wood products, typically leads to a loss of long-term income and long-term biological productivity. ], ], ] and many other regions have experienced lower revenue because of declining timber harvests. Illegal logging causes billions of dollars of losses to national economies annually.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0905.htm|work=rainforests.mongabay.com|title=Destruction of Renewable Resources}}</ref>

The resilience of human food systems and their capacity to adapt to future change is linked to biodiversity – including dryland-adapted shrub and tree species that help combat desertification, forest-dwelling insects, bats and bird species that pollinate crops, trees with extensive root systems in ] that prevent ], and mangrove species that provide resilience against flooding in coastal areas.<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020" /> With climate change exacerbating the risks to food systems, the role of forests in capturing and storing carbon and mitigating climate change is important for the agricultural sector.<ref name="FAO & UNEP-2020" />


Some have argued that deforestation trends may follow a ],<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.aseanenvironment.info/Abstract/41014849.pdf |title=Deforestation and the environmental Kuznets curve: An institutional perspective |doi=10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006.03.014|year=2007|last1=Culas|first1=Richard J.|journal=Ecological Economics|volume=61|issue=2–3|pages=429 }}</ref> which if true would nonetheless fail to eliminate the risk of irreversible loss of non-economic forest values (for example, the extinction of species).<ref>, November 22, 2006</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/deveco/v58y1999i1p231-244.html|title=Is there an environmental Kuznets curve for deforestation?}}</ref>
]'s border with the ] (right) shows the amount of ]]] ]'s border with the ] (right) shows the amount of ]]]
A 2005 report by the United Nations ] (FAO) estimates that although the Earth's total forest area continues to decrease at about 13 million hectares per year, the global rate of deforestation has recently been slowing.<ref name=pantropical>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/y1997e/y1997e1f.htm|title=Pan-tropical Survey of Forest Cover Changes 1980–2000|work=Forest Resources Assessment|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)|location=Rome, Italy}}</ref><ref>. FAO (2001-03-16). Retrieved on 2010-08-29.</ref> Still others claim that rainforests are being destroyed at an ever-quickening pace.<ref>, ]</ref> The London-based ] notes that "the UN figure is based on a definition of forest as being an area with as little as 10% actual tree cover, which would therefore include areas that are actually savannah-like ecosystems and badly damaged forests."<ref name="news.mongabay.com">{{cite web|url=http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1115-forests.html|title=World deforestation rates and forest cover statistics, 2000–2005|author=Rhett A. Butler|work= mongabay.com|date=November 16, 2005}}</ref> Other critics of the FAO data point out that they do not distinguish between forest types,<ref>The fear is that highly diverse habitats, such as tropical rainforest, are vanishing at a faster rate that is partly masked by the slower deforestation of less biodiverse, dry, open forests. Because of this omission, the most harmful impacts of deforestation (such as habitat loss) could be increasing despite a possible decline in the global rate of deforestation.</ref> and that they are based largely on reporting from forestry departments of individual countries,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0629-deforestation.html|title=Remote sensing versus self-reporting}}</ref> which do not take into account unofficial activities like illegal logging.<ref>The World Bank estimates that 80% of logging operations are illegal in Bolivia and 42% in Colombia, while in Peru, illegal logging accounts for 80% of all logging activities. (World Bank (2004). ''Forest Law Enforcement''.) (The Peruvian Environmental Law Society (2003). ''Case Study on the Development and Implementation of Guidelines for the Control of Illegal Logging with a View to Sustainable Forest Management in Peru''.)</ref>


]
Despite these uncertainties, there is agreement that destruction of rainforests remains a significant environmental problem. Up to 90% of ]'s coastal rainforests have disappeared since 1900.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/eye/deforestation/effect.html|title=Forest Holocaust|work=National Geographic}}</ref>
In ], about 88% of the rainforests have been lost.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csupomona.edu/~admckettrick/projects/ag101_project/html/size.html|title=Rainforests & Agriculture}}</ref> Much of what remains of the world's rainforests is in the ], where the ] covers approximately 4 million square kilometres.<ref>, BBC, 14 February 2003</ref> The regions with the highest tropical deforestation rate between 2000 and 2005 were ]—which lost 1.3% of its forests each year—and tropical Asia.<ref name="news.mongabay.com" /> In ], two-thirds of lowland tropical forests have been turned into pasture since 1950 and 40% of all the rainforests have been lost in the last 40 years.<ref name="ru.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.ru.org/ecology-and-environment/the-causes-of-tropical-deforestation.html|title=The Causes of Tropical Deforestation|work=New Renaissance Magazine|author=John Revington}}</ref> ] has lost 90–95% of its ] forest.,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kids.mongabay.com/lesson_plans/lisa_algee/deforestation.html|title=What is Deforestation?|work=kids.mongabay.com}}</ref>
] was losing its natural semi humid forests in the country’s western regions at a rate of 15.000 hectares at a randomly studied 2 month period in 2010,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.abc.com.py/nota/103480-Paraguay-es-principal-deforestador-del-Chaco |title= Paraguay es principal deforestador del Chaco|work=ABC Color newspaper, Paraguay|accessdate=August 13, 2011}}</ref> Paraguay’s parliament refused in 2009 to pass a law that would have stopped cutting of natural forests altogether.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ventacamposparaguay.com/farmland.html|title=Paraguay farmland|accessdate=August 13, 2011}}</ref>


== Monitoring ==
]
]'s environmental police, searching for illegal logging activity in ] in the ], 2018]]
] has lost 90% of its eastern rainforests.<ref>, 27 June 2007</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newscientist.com/data/images/archive/1717/17173001.jpg|title=Madagascar's rainforest map|work=New Scientist}}</ref> As of 2007, ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.satglobal.com/cfpap2.htm|title=International Conference on Reforestation and Environmental Regeneration of Haiti}}</ref> ], India, the ], ], ], ], ], ], China, ], ], ], the ], ], ], ] and the ], have lost large areas of their rainforest.<ref>. Mongabay.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-04.</ref><ref>. rainforestweb.org</ref> Several countries, notably ], have declared their deforestation a national emergency.<ref>, USATODAY.com, January 24, 2008</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/brazil/story/0,,1488468,00.html|title=Rainforest loss shocks Brazil|work=The Guardian|location=London|first=John|last=Vidal|date=31 May 2005|accessdate=April 1, 2010}}</ref> The ]'s ] project catalogues habitat types throughout the world, including habitat loss such as deforestation, showing for example that even in the rich forests of parts of Canada such as the ] of the prairie provinces half of the forest cover has been lost or altered.
There are multiple methods that are appropriate and reliable for reducing and monitoring deforestation. One method is the "visual interpretation of aerial photos or satellite imagery that is labor-intensive but does not require high-level training in computer image processing or extensive computational resources".<ref name="autogenerated2" /> Another method includes hot-spot analysis (that is, locations of rapid change) using expert opinion or coarse resolution satellite data to identify locations for detailed digital analysis with high resolution satellite images.<ref name="autogenerated2" /> Deforestation is typically assessed by quantifying the amount of area deforested, measured at the present time.
From an environmental point of view, quantifying the damage and its possible consequences is a more important task, while conservation efforts are more focused on forested land protection and development of land-use alternatives to avoid continued deforestation.<ref name="autogenerated2" /> Deforestation rate and total area deforested have been widely used for monitoring deforestation in many regions, including the Brazilian Amazon deforestation monitoring by INPE.<ref name="ReferenceC" /> A global satellite view is available, an example of ] monitoring of land cover over time.<ref>{{cite web|title=Global Forest Change – Google Crisis Map|url=https://earthenginepartners.appspot.com/science-2013-global-forest|access-date=12 October 2016|work=Google Crisis Map}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Popkin|first1=Gabriel|date=4 October 2016|title=Warning to forest destroyers: this scientist will catch you|journal=Nature News & Comment|volume=538|issue=7623|pages=24–26|bibcode=2016Natur.538...24P|doi=10.1038/538024a|pmid=27708330|doi-access=free}}</ref>


Satellite imaging has become crucial in obtaining data on levels of deforestation and reforestation. ] ] data, for example, has been used to map tropical deforestation as part of ]'s Landsat ''Pathfinder Humid Tropical Deforestation Project''. The project yielded deforestation maps for the ], ], and ] for three periods in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091123222113/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Deforestation/deforestation_update4.php|date=2009-11-23}} accessed 12 November 2009.</ref>
====Regions====
{{Main|Deforestation by region}}
Rates of deforestation vary around the world.


Greenpeace has mapped out the forests that are still intact<ref>. intactforests.org</ref> and published this information on the internet.<ref>{{cite web|title=World Intact Forests campaign by Greenpeace|url=http://www.intactforests.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228060648/http://www.intactforests.org/|archive-date=28 February 2009|access-date=10 July 2008|work=intactforests.org}}</ref> ] in turn has made a simpler thematic map<ref>, WRI</ref> showing the amount of forests present just before the age of man (8000 years ago) and the current (reduced) levels of forest.<ref>{{cite web|title=Alternative thematic map by Howstuffworks; in pdf|url=http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/maps/pdf/WOR_THEM_Forests.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090711004701/http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/maps/pdf/WOR_THEM_Forests.pdf|archive-date=11 July 2009|access-date=6 April 2009}}</ref>
In 2011 ] listed the top 10 most endangered forests, characterized by having all lost 90% or more of their original ], and each harboring at least 1500 ] plant species (species found nowhere else in the world).<ref name=ci2011/>


== Control ==
:{| class="wikitable sortable" border="0" style="background:#ffffff" align="top"
|+ style="text-align:center; background:DarkGreen; color:white;"|<big>'''Top 10 Most Endangered Forests 2011</big>'''
|-
! style="background:LightGreen; color:Black"|Endangered forest
! style="background:LightGreen; color:Black"|Region
! style="background:LightGreen; color:Black"|Remaining habitat
! style="background:LightGreen; color:Black"|Predominate vegetation type
! style="background:LightGreen; color:Black"|Notes
|-
| ]
| Asia-Pacific
| 5%
| ]
| Rivers, floodplain wetlands, mangrove forests. ], ], ], ], ], ].<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
| ]
| Asia-Pacific
| 5%
| Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
| See note for region covered.<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
| ]
| Asia-Pacific
| 7%
| Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
| Western half of the Indo-Malayan archipelago including southern ] and ].<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
| ]
| Asia-Pacific
| 7%
| Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
| Forests over the entire country including 7,100 islands.<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
| ]
| South America
| 8%
| Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
| Forests along ]'s Atlantic coast, extends to parts of ], ] and ].<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
| Mountains of Southwest China
| Asia-Pacific
| 8%
| ]
| See note for region covered.<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
| ]
| North America
| 10%
| ]
| See note for region covered.<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
| ]
| Africa
| 10%
| Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
| ], ], ], ].<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
| ] & Indian Ocean Islands
| Africa
| 10%
| Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
| ], ], ], ], ].<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|-
| ]
| Africa
| 11%
| Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests<br>]
| Forests scattered along the eastern edge of Africa, from ] in the north to ] in the south.<ref>, Conservation International.</ref>
|}
::Table source:<ref name=ci2011>, Conservation International, February 2, 2011.</ref>


===International, national and subnational policies===
==Control==
]
{{Further|Sustainable development|Universal basic income in Brazil}}


Policies for forest protection include information and education programs, economic measures to increase revenue returns from authorized activities and measures to increase effectiveness of "forest technicians and forest managers".<ref>{{cite web|title=29. Policies, strategies and technologies for forest resource protection – William B. Magrath* and Richard Grandalski**|url=http://www.fao.org/3/AC805E/ac805e0v.htm|website=www.fao.org|access-date=2 May 2021}}</ref> Poverty and agricultural rent were found to be principal factors leading to deforestation.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Poverty reduction saves forests sustainably: Lessons for deforestation policies|journal=World Development|date=1 March 2020|volume=127|pages=104746|doi=10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104746|language=en|issn=0305-750X|doi-access=free|last1=Miyamoto|first1=Motoe}}</ref> Contemporary domestic and foreign political decision-makers could possibly create and implement policies whose outcomes ensure that economic activities in critical forests are consistent with their scientifically ascribed value for ]s, climate change mitigation and other purposes.
===Reducing emissions===

{{Main|Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation}}
Such policies may use and organize the development of complementary technical and economic means – including for lower levels of beef production, sales and consumption (which would also have major benefits for ]),<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Henders|first1=Sabine|last2=Persson|first2=U Martin|last3=Kastner|first3=Thomas|title=Trading forests: land-use change and carbon emissions embodied in production and exports of forest-risk commodities|journal=Environmental Research Letters|date=1 December 2015|volume=10|issue=12|pages=125012|doi=10.1088/1748-9326/10/12/125012|bibcode=2015ERL....10l5012H|language=en|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pierrehumbert|first1=R T|last2=Eshel|first2=G|title=Climate impact of beef: an analysis considering multiple time scales and production methods without use of global warming potentials|journal=Environmental Research Letters|date=1 August 2015|volume=10|issue=8|pages=085002|doi=10.1088/1748-9326/10/8/085002|bibcode=2015ERL....10h5002P|s2cid=152365403|language=en|issn=1748-9326|doi-access=free}}</ref> higher levels of specified other economic activities in such areas (such as reforestation, forest protection, ] for specific classes of food products and ] in general), ] ], practice- and product-certifications and ], along with the required monitoring and ]. ] could, for instance, achieve a global phase-out of ].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Nepstad|first1=Daniel|last2=McGrath|first2=David|last3=Stickler|first3=Claudia|last4=Alencar|first4=Ane|last5=Azevedo|first5=Andrea|last6=Swette|first6=Briana|last7=Bezerra|first7=Tathiana|last8=DiGiano|first8=Maria|last9=Shimada|first9=João|last10=Seroa da Motta|first10=Ronaldo|last11=Armijo|first11=Eric|last12=Castello|first12=Leandro|last13=Brando|first13=Paulo|last14=Hansen|first14=Matt C.|last15=McGrath-Horn|first15=Max|last16=Carvalho|first16=Oswaldo|last17=Hess|first17=Laura|title=Slowing Amazon deforestation through public policy and interventions in beef and soy supply chains|journal=Science|date=6 June 2014|volume=344|issue=6188|pages=1118–1123|doi=10.1126/science.1248525|pmid=24904156|bibcode=2014Sci...344.1118N|s2cid=206553761}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Nolte|first1=Christoph|last2=le Polain de Waroux|first2=Yann|last3=Munger|first3=Jacob|last4=Reis|first4=Tiago N. P.|last5=Lambin|first5=Eric F.|title=Conditions influencing the adoption of effective anti-deforestation policies in South America's commodity frontiers|journal=Global Environmental Change|date=1 March 2017|volume=43|pages=1–14|doi=10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.01.001|bibcode=2017GEC....43....1N|language=en|issn=0959-3780}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=McAlpine|first1=C. A.|last2=Etter|first2=A.|last3=Fearnside|first3=P. M.|last4=Seabrook|first4=L.|last5=Laurance|first5=W. F.|title=Increasing world consumption of beef as a driver of regional and global change: A call for policy action based on evidence from Queensland (Australia), Colombia and Brazil|journal=Global Environmental Change|date=1 February 2009|volume=19|issue=1|pages=21–33|doi=10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.10.008|bibcode=2009GEC....19...21M|language=en|issn=0959-3780|url=https://repositorio.unal.edu.co/handle/unal/79486}}</ref>{{additional citation needed|date=May 2021}} With complex polycentric governance measures, goals like sufficient climate change mitigation as decided with e.g. the ] and a stoppage of deforestation by 2030 as decided at the ] could be achieved.<ref name="10.1017/sus.2021.21">{{cite journal|last1=Furumo|first1=Paul R.|last2=Lambin|first2=Eric F.|title=Policy sequencing to reduce tropical deforestation|journal=Global Sustainability|date=27 October 2021|volume=4|doi=10.1017/sus.2021.21|bibcode=2021GlSus...4E..24F|s2cid=239890357|language=en|issn=2059-4798|doi-access=free}}</ref> A study has suggested higher income nations need to reduce ] of tropical forest-related products and help with theoretically forest-related socioeconomic development. Proactive government policies and international forest policies "revisit and redesign global forest trade" are needed as well.<ref>{{cite news|title=200 million acres of forest cover have been lost since 1960|url=https://grist.org/science/forest-cover-deforestation-logging-1960/|access-date=15 September 2022|work=Grist|date=5 August 2022|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Estoque|first1=Ronald C|last2=Dasgupta|first2=Rajarshi|last3=Winkler|first3=Karina|last4=Avitabile|first4=Valerio|last5=Johnson|first5=Brian A|last6=Myint|first6=Soe W|last7=Gao|first7=Yan|last8=Ooba|first8=Makoto|last9=Murayama|first9=Yuji|last10=Lasco|first10=Rodel D|title=Spatiotemporal pattern of global forest change over the past 60 years and the forest transition theory|journal=Environmental Research Letters|date=1 August 2022|volume=17|issue=8|pages=084022|doi=10.1088/1748-9326/ac7df5|bibcode=2022ERL....17h4022E|language=en|issn=1748-9326|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Main international organizations including the United Nations and the World Bank, have begun to develop programs aimed at curbing deforestation. The blanket term ] (REDD) describes these sorts of programs, which use direct monetary or other incentives to encourage developing countries to limit and/or roll back deforestation. Funding has been an issue, but at the ] (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties-15 (COP-15) in Copenhagen in December 2009, an accord was reached with a collective commitment by developed countries for new and additional resources, including forestry and investments through international institutions, that will approach USD 30 billion for the period 2010–2012.<ref>{{Cite news|title= Copenhagen Accord of 18 December 2009 |publisher=UNFCC |year= 2009 |url= http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/cop_15/application/pdf/cop15_cph_auv.pdf |accessdate= 2009-12-28}}</ref> Significant work is underway on tools for use in monitoring developing country adherence to their agreed REDD targets. These tools, which rely on remote forest monitoring using satellite imagery and other data sources, include the ] FORMA (Forest Monitoring for Action) initiative <ref>. Cgdev.org (2009-11-23). Retrieved on 2010-08-29.</ref> and the ] Forest Carbon Tracking Portal.<ref>. Portal.geo-fct.org. Retrieved on 2010-08-29.</ref> Methodological guidance for forest monitoring was also emphasized at COP-15.<ref>{{Cite news|title= Methodological Guidance |publisher=UNFCC |year= 2009 |url= http://unfccc.int/files/na/application/pdf/cop15_ddc_auv.pdf |accessdate= 2009-12-28}}</ref> The environmental organization ] leads the campaign for development of REDD through funding from the U.S. government.<ref>. Climateprogress.org (2009-12-16). Retrieved on 2010-08-29.</ref>

In 2022 the ] approved a bill aiming to stop the import linked with deforestation. This ] (EUDR), may cause to Brazil, for example, to stop deforestation for agricultural production and begun to "increase productivity on existing agricultural land".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Schröder|first1=André|title=European bill passes to ban imports of deforestation-linked commodities|url=https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/european-bill-passes-to-ban-imports-of-deforestation-linked-commodities/|website=Mongabay|date=15 September 2022|access-date=18 September 2022}}</ref> The legislation was adopted with some changes by the ] in May 2023 and is expected to enter into force several weeks after. The bill requires companies who want to import certain types of products to the European Union to prove the production of those commodities is not linked to areas deforested after 31 of December 2020. It prohibits also import of products linked with ] abuse. The list of products includes: ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. Some derivatives of those products are also included: ], ], ] and several palm oil based derivates.<ref>{{cite web|title=Council adopts new rules to cut deforestation worldwide|url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/05/16/council-adopts-new-rules-to-cut-deforestation-worldwide/|website=European Counsil|publisher=European Union|access-date=22 May 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Téllez Chávez|first1=Luciana|title=EU Approves Law for 'Deforestation-Free' Trade|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/16/eu-approves-law-deforestation-free-trade|website=Human Rights Watch|date=16 May 2023|access-date=22 May 2023}}</ref>

But unfortunately, as the report ''Bankrolling ecosystem destruction'' shows,<ref></ref> this regulation of product imports is not enough. The European financial sector is investing billions of euros in the destruction of nature. Banks do not respond positively to requests to stop this, which is why the report calls for European regulation in this area to be tightened and for banks to be banned from continuing to finance deforestation.<ref></ref>

=== International pledges ===
In 2014, about 40 countries signed the ], a voluntary pledge to halve deforestation by 2020 and end it by 2030. The agreement was not legally binding, however, and some key countries, such as Brazil, China, and Russia, did not sign onto it. As a result, the effort failed, and deforestation increased from 2014 to 2020.<ref>{{cite news|date=2 November 2021|title=COP26: World leaders promise to end deforestation by 2030|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59088498}}</ref><ref name="Butlerb">{{cite news|author=Rhett A. Butler|date=5 November 2021|title=What countries are leaders in reducing deforestation? Which are not?|publisher=Mongabay|url=https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/glasgow-declaration-what-countries-are-leaders-in-reducing-deforestation/}}</ref>

In November 2021, 141 countries (with around 85% of the world's ] ]s and 90% of global ]) agreed at the ] to the ''Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use'', a pledge to end and reverse deforestation by 2030.<ref name="Butlerb" /><ref name="SpringJessop">{{cite news|author1=Jake Spring|author2=Simon Jessop|date=3 November 2021|title=Over 100 global leaders pledge to end deforestation by 2030|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/over-100-global-leaders-pledge-end-deforestation-by-2030-2021-11-01/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=November 12, 2021|title=Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use|publisher=]|url=https://ukcop26.org/glasgow-leaders-declaration-on-forests-and-land-use/1|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114073626/https://ukcop26.org/glasgow-leaders-declaration-on-forests-and-land-use/|archive-date=November 14, 2021}}</ref> The agreement was accompanied by about $19.2 billion in associated funding commitments.<ref name="SpringJessop" />

The 2021 ] improved on the New York Declaration by now including Brazil and many other countries that did not sign the 2014 agreement.<ref name="Butlerb" /><ref name="SpringJessop" /> Some key nations with high rates of deforestation (including Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Paraguay, and Myanmar) have not signed the Glasgow Declaration.<ref name="SpringJessop" /> Like the earlier agreement, the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration was entered into outside the ] and is thus not legally binding.<ref name="SpringJessop" />

In November 2021, the EU executive outlined a draft law requiring companies to prove that the agricultural commodities beef, wood, palm oil, soy, ] and ] destined for the EU's 450 million consumers were not linked to deforestation.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rankin|first=Jennifer|date=2021-11-17|title=EU aims to curb deforestation with beef and coffee import ban|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/17/eu-deforestation-beef-coffee-import-ban-commodities-endangered-forests|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117131641/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/17/eu-deforestation-beef-coffee-import-ban-commodities-endangered-forests|archive-date=17 November 2021|access-date=2021-11-17|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> In September 2022, the EU Parliament supported and strengthened the plan from the EU's executive with 453 votes to 57.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Petrequin|first=Samuel|date=2022-09-13|title=EU lawmakers support ban of goods linked to deforestation|url=https://apnews.com/article/forests-european-union-deforestation-dfac73fb792f185df0b3b79a055abdbf|access-date=2022-09-14|website=AP NEWS|language=en}}</ref>

In 2018 the biggest palm oil trader, Wilmar, decided to control its suppliers to avoid deforestation<ref>{{cite web|last1=Holder|first1=Michael|date=10 December 2018|title='Potential breakthrough': Palm oil giant Wilmar steps up 'no deforestation' efforts|url=https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3067932/potential-breakthrough-palm-oil-giant-wilmar-steps-up-no-deforestation-efforts|access-date=11 December 2018|website=Business Green}}</ref>{{additional citation needed|date=August 2020}}


In 2021, over 100 world leaders, representing countries containing more than 85% of the world's forests, committed to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-02|title=Major shifts in private finance, trade and land rights to protect world's forests|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-shifts-in-private-finance-trade-and-land-rights-to-protect-worlds-forests|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102113309/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-shifts-in-private-finance-trade-and-land-rights-to-protect-worlds-forests|archive-date=2 November 2021|access-date=2021-11-07|website=GOV.UK|language=en}}</ref>
In evaluating implications of overall emissions reductions, countries of greatest concern are those categorized as High Forest Cover with High Rates of Deforestation (HFHD) and Low Forest Cover with High Rates of Deforestation (LFHD). Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Burma, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, ], Honduras, Indonesia, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zimbabwe are listed as having Low Forest Cover with High Rates of Deforestation (LFHD). Brazil, Cambodia, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Equatorial Guinea, Malaysia, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Venezuela, Zambia are listed as High Forest Cover with High Rates of Deforestation (HFHD).<ref>{{cite web|title= Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD): An Options Assessment Report |publisher=Meridian Institute for the Government of Norway |year= 2009 |url= http://www.africaclimatesolution.org/features/REDD-Options_Assessment_Report.pdf|pages=75–77 |accessdate= 2011-11-24 |author=Angelsen, Arild et al}}</ref>


===Farming=== === Land rights ===
] to indigenous inhabitants is argued to efficiently conserve forests.]]
New methods are being developed to farm more intensively, such as high-yield ] crops, ], ] gardens, and ]s. These methods are often dependent on chemical inputs to maintain necessary yields. In cyclic ], cattle are grazed on farm land that is resting and rejuvenating. Cyclic agriculture actually increases the fertility of the soil. Intensive farming can also decrease soil nutrients by consuming at an accelerated rate the trace minerals needed for crop growth.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}The most promising approach, however, is the concept of ] in ], which consists of agroforestal systems carefully designed to mimic natural forests, with an emphasis on plant and animal species of interest for food, timber and other uses. These systems have low dependence on ] and ], are highly self-maintaining, highly productive, and with strong positive impact on soil and water quality, and ].
Indigenous communities have long been the frontline of resistance against deforestation.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-02-06|title=Indigenous Peoples' Forest Tenure|url=https://drawdown.org/solutions/indigenous-peoples-forest-tenure|access-date=2020-09-13|website=Project Drawdown|language=en}}</ref> Transferring rights over land from public domain to its ] is argued to be a cost-effective strategy to conserve forests.<ref name="Guardian1">{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/jul/22/india-follow-china-saving-forest-people-land-rights|title=India should follow China to find a way out of the woods on saving forest people|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=7 August 2016|date=22 July 2016}}</ref> This includes the protection of such rights entitled in existing laws, such as India's ].<ref name="Guardian1" /> The transferring of such rights in ], perhaps the largest ] in modern times, has been argued to have increased forest cover.<ref name="rightsandresources">{{cite web|url=http://rightsandresources.org/en/publication/view/chinas-forest-tenure-reforms-impacts-and-implications-for-choice-conservation-and-climate-change/|title=China's forest tenure reforms|publisher=rightsandresources.org|access-date=7 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923153921/http://rightsandresources.org/en/publication/view/chinas-forest-tenure-reforms-impacts-and-implications-for-choice-conservation-and-climate-change/|archive-date=23 September 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In ], forested areas given tenure to indigenous groups have even lower rates of ] than ]s.<ref name="rightsandresources" />


Community concessions in the ] have significantly less deforestation as communities are incentivized to manage the land sustainably, even reducing poverty.<ref>{{cite news|date=7 January 2021|title=The bold plan to save Africa's largest forest|newspaper=BBC|url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210107-congo-basin-a-bold-plan-to-save-africas-largest-rainforest|access-date=16 September 2021}}</ref>
===Monitoring deforestation===
There are multiple methods that are appropriate and reliable for reducing and monitoring deforestation. One method is the “visual interpretation of aerial photos or satellite imagery that is labor-intensive but does not require high-level training in computer image processing or extensive computational resources”.<ref name="autogenerated2"/> Another method includes hot-spot analysis (that is, locations of rapid change) using expert opinion or coarse resolution satellite data to identify locations for detailed digital analysis with high resolution satellite images.<ref name="autogenerated2"/> Deforestation is typically assessed by quantifying the amount of area deforested, measured at the present time.
From an environmental point of view, quantifying the damage and its possible consequences is a more important task, while conservation efforts are more focused on forested land protection and development of land-use alternatives to avoid continued deforestation.<ref name="autogenerated2"/> Deforestation rate and total area deforested, have been widely used for monitoring deforestation in many regions, including the Brazilian Amazon deforestation monitoring by INPE.<ref name="ReferenceC"/> Monitoring deforestation is a very complicated process, which becomes even more complicated with the increasing needs for resources.


===Forest management=== ===Forest management===
{{Further|Forest management}}
Efforts to stop or slow deforestation have been attempted for many centuries because it has long been known that deforestation can cause environmental damage sufficient in some cases to cause societies to collapse. In ], paramount rulers developed policies designed to prevent conflicts between short-term gains from converting forest to farmland and long-term problems forest loss would cause,<ref>Diamond, Jared ''Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed''; Viking Press 2004, pp. 301–302 ISBN 0-14-311700-9</ref> while during the 17th and 18th centuries in ], Japan,<ref>Diamond, Jared ''Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed''; Viking Press 2004, pp. 320–331 ISBN 0-14-311700-9</ref> the shoguns developed a highly sophisticated system of long-term planning to stop and even reverse deforestation of the preceding centuries through substituting timber by other products and more efficient use of land that had been farmed for many centuries. In 16th century Germany landowners also developed ] to deal with the problem of deforestation. However, these policies tend to be limited to environments with ''good rainfall'', ''no dry season'' and ''very young ]s'' (through ] or ]). This is because on older and less fertile soils trees grow too slowly for silviculture to be economic, whilst in areas with a strong dry season there is always a risk of forest fires destroying a tree crop before it matures.


In the areas where "]" is practiced, switching to "]" would prevent the rapid deforestation and subsequent degradation of soils. The ] thus created, given back to the soil, is not only a durable ] method, but it also is an extremely beneficial ] to the soil. Mixed with ] it brings the creation of ], one of the richest soils on the planet and the only one known to regenerate itself. In areas where "]" is practiced, switching to "]" would prevent the rapid deforestation and subsequent degradation of soils. The ] thus created, given back to the soil, is not only a durable ] method, but it also is an extremely beneficial ] to the soil. Mixed with ] it brings the creation of ], one of the richest soils on the planet and the only one known to regenerate itself.]
Certification, as provided by global certification systems such as ] and ], contributes to tackling deforestation by creating market demand for timber from sustainably managed forests. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), "A major condition for the adoption of sustainable forest management is a demand for products that are produced sustainably and consumer willingness to pay for the higher costs entailed. By promoting the positive attributes of forest products from sustainably managed forests, certification focuses on the demand side of environmental conservation."<ref>. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.</ref>


=== Financial compensations for reducing emissions from deforestation ===
====Sustainable practices====
{{Main|Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation}}
Certification, as provided by global certification systems such as ] and ], contributes to tackling deforestation by creating market demand for timber from sustainably managed forests. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), "A major condition for the adoption of sustainable forest management is a demand for products that are produced sustainably and consumer willingness to pay for the higher costs entailed. Certification represents a shift from regulatory approaches to market incentives to promote sustainable forest management. By promoting the positive attributes of forest products from sustainably managed forests, certification focuses on the demand side of environmental conservation."<ref>. United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.</ref> ] argues that the standards of organizations like FSC are too closely connected to industry interests and therefore do not guarantee environmentally and socially responsible forest management. In reality, monitoring systems are inadequate and various cases of fraud have been documented worldwide.<ref></ref>

] in developing countries has emerged as a new potential to complement ongoing climate policies. The idea consists in providing financial compensations for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deforestation and forest degradation".<ref>{{cite web|author1=Wertz-Kanounnikoff, Sheila|last2=Alvarado|first2=Rubio|last3=Ximena|first3=Laura|title=Why are we seeing "REDD"?|url=http://www.iddri.org/Publications/Collections/Analyses/Why-are-we-seeing-REDD|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225042425/http://www.iddri.org/Publications/Collections/Analyses/Why-are-we-seeing-REDD|archive-date=25 December 2007|access-date=14 November 2016|publisher=Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations}}</ref> REDD can be seen as an alternative to the ] system as in the latter, polluters must pay for permits for the right to emit certain pollutants (i.e. {{CO2}}).

Main international organizations including the United Nations and the World Bank, have begun to develop programs aimed at curbing deforestation. The blanket term ''Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation'' (REDD) describes these sorts of programs, which use direct monetary or other incentives to encourage developing countries to limit and/or roll back deforestation. Funding has been an issue, but at the ] (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties-15 (COP-15) in Copenhagen in December 2009, an accord was reached with a collective commitment by developed countries for new and additional resources, including ] and investments through international institutions, that will approach US$30 billion for the period 2010–2012.<ref>{{Cite news|year=2009|title=Copenhagen Accord of 18 December 2009|publisher=UNFCC|url=http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/cop_15/application/pdf/cop15_cph_auv.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=28 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131004732/http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/cop_15/application/pdf/cop15_cph_auv.pdf|archive-date=2010-01-31}}</ref>

Significant work is underway on tools for use in monitoring developing countries' adherence to their agreed REDD targets. These tools, which rely on remote forest monitoring using satellite imagery and other data sources, include the ]'s FORMA (Forest Monitoring for Action) initiative<ref>. Cgdev.org (23 November 2009). Retrieved 29 August 2010.</ref> and the ]' Forest Carbon Tracking Portal.<ref>{{dead link|date=March 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}. Portal.geo-fct.org. Retrieved 29 August 2010.</ref> Methodological guidance for forest monitoring was also emphasized at COP-15.<ref>{{Cite news|year=2009|title=Methodological Guidance|publisher=UNFCC|url=http://unfccc.int/files/na/application/pdf/cop15_ddc_auv.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=28 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100119191332/http://unfccc.int/files/na/application/pdf/cop15_ddc_auv.pdf|archive-date=2010-01-19}}</ref> The environmental organization ] leads the campaign for development of REDD through funding from the U.S. government.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608214412/http://climateprogress.org/2009/12/16/sec-vilsack-1-billion-for-redd/|date=8 June 2010}}. Climateprogress.org (16 December 2009). Retrieved 29 August 2010.</ref>

== History ==
{{Further|Timeline of environmental history}}

===Prehistory===
The ]<ref name="Benton" /> was an event that occurred 300 million years ago. Climate change devastated tropical rainforests causing the extinction of many plant and animal species. The change was abrupt, specifically, at this time climate became cooler and drier, conditions that are not favorable to the growth of rainforests and much of the biodiversity within them. Rainforests were fragmented forming shrinking 'islands' further and further apart. Populations such as the sub class ] were devastated, whereas ] survived the collapse. The surviving organisms were better adapted to the drier environment left behind and served as legacies in succession after the collapse.{{Cn|date=June 2024}}

]
Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years.<ref>{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Leslie|url=https://archive.org/details/healingpowerofra00tayl|title=The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals|publisher=Square One|year=2004|isbn=9780757001444}}</ref>
Small scale deforestation was practiced by some societies for tens of thousands of years before the beginnings of civilization.<ref name="FutureEaters">{{Cite book|last=Flannery|first=T|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_0730104877|title=The future eaters|publisher=Reed Books|year=1994|isbn=0-7301-0422-2|place=Melbourne}}</ref> The first evidence of deforestation appears in the ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Brown|first1=Tony|year=1997|title=Clearances and Clearings: Deforestation in Mesolithic/Neolithic Britain|journal=Oxford Journal of Archaeology|volume=16|issue=2|pages=133–146|doi=10.1111/1468-0092.00030}}</ref> It was probably used to convert closed forests into more open ecosystems favourable to game animals.<ref name="FutureEaters" /> With the advent of agriculture, larger areas began to be deforested, and fire became the prime tool to clear land for crops. In Europe there is little solid evidence before 7000 BC. Mesolithic ] used fire to create openings for ] and ]. In Great Britain, shade-tolerant species such as ] and ] are replaced in the ] by ]s, brambles, grasses and nettles. Removal of the forests led to decreased ], resulting in the formation of upland ]s. Widespread decrease in ] ] across Europe between 8400 and 8300 BC and 7200–7000 BC, starting in southern Europe and gradually moving north to Great Britain, may represent land ] by fire at the onset of ] agriculture.

The ] saw extensive deforestation for ].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|title=hand tool: Neolithic tools|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/254115/hand-tool/39205/Neolithic-tools|date=19 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Neolithic Age from 4,000 BC to 2,200 BC or New Stone Age|url=http://www.archaeolink.co.uk/Neolithic-Age.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070304122056/http://www.archaeolink.co.uk/Neolithic-Age.html|archive-date=4 March 2007|access-date=2 October 2008|website=www.archaeolink.co.uk}}</ref> Stone axes were being made from about 3000 BC not just from flint, but from a wide variety of hard rocks from across Britain and North America as well. They include the noted ] in the ], quarries developed at ] in ] and numerous other locations. Rough-outs were made locally near the quarries, and some were polished locally to give a fine finish. This step not only increased the ] of the axe, but also made penetration of wood easier. ] was still used from sources such as ] but from many other mines across Europe.

Evidence of deforestation has been found in ] ]; for example the environs of the ] were severely deforested in the ].<ref>Hogan, C. Michael (22 December 2007). , ''The Modern Antiquarian''</ref>

===Pre-industrial history===
{{See also|Deforestation during the Roman period|Deforestation by continent}}
], deforested. ]]

Just as archaeologists have shown that prehistoric farming societies had to cut or burn forests before planting, documents and artifacts from early civilizations often reveal histories of deforestation. Some of the most dramatic are eighth century BCE Assyrian ] depicting logs being floated downstream from conquered areas to the less forested capital region as spoils of war. Ancient Chinese texts make clear that some areas of the Yellow River valley had already destroyed many of their forests over 2000 years ago and had to plant trees as crops or import them from long distances.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Ian M.|title=The Cultivated Forest: People and Woodlands in Asian History|last2=Davis|first2=Bradley C.|last3=Lander|first3=Brian|last4=Lee|first4=John|date=2022|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=9780295750903|location=Seattle}}</ref> In South China much of the land came to be privately owned and used for the commercial growing of timber.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Ian M.|title=Fir and Empire: The Transformation of Forests in Early Modern China|date=2020|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=9780295747330|location=Seattle}}</ref>

Three regional studies of historic erosion and alluviation in ] found that, wherever adequate evidence exists, a major phase of erosion follows the introduction of farming in the various regions of Greece by about 500–1,000 years, ranging from the later Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Van Andel|first1=Tjeerd H.|last2=Zangger|first2=Eberhard|last3=Demitrack|first3=Anne|year=2013|title=Land Use and Soil Erosion in Prehistoric and Historical Greece|url=http://www.esf.edu/cue/documents/vanAndel-etal_LandUse-HistoricGreece_1990.pdf|url-status=live|journal=Journal of Field Archaeology|volume=17|issue=4|pages=379–396|doi=10.1179/009346990791548628|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529055219/http://www.esf.edu/cue/documents/vanAndel-etal_LandUse-HistoricGreece_1990.pdf|archive-date=2013-05-29}}</ref> The thousand years following the mid-first millennium BC saw serious, intermittent pulses of soil erosion in numerous places. The historic ] of ports along the southern coasts of ] (''e.g.'' ], and the examples of ], ] and ], where harbors had to be abandoned because of the silt deposited by the Meander) and in coastal ] during the last centuries BC.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Miletus|url=https://www.thebyzantinelegacy.com/miletus|access-date=2022-11-22|website=The Byzantine Legacy|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Miletus (Site)|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Miletus&object=Site|access-date=2022-11-22|website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>

] has suffered from heavy ] in recent centuries, aggravated by agriculture and deforestation.<ref>, ''Smithsonian Magazine'', 1 April 2007.</ref> The disappearance of the island's trees seems to coincide with a decline of its civilization around the 17th and 18th century. Scholars have attributed the collapse to deforestation and over-exploitation of all resources.<ref>{{cite web|title=Historical Consequences of Deforestation: Easter Island (Diamond 1995)|url=http://www.mongabay.com/09easter_island.htm|publisher=mongabay.com|access-date=8 July 2008|archive-date=29 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429014142/http://mongabay.com/09easter_island.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Jared Diamond, Easter Island's End|url=http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/24/042.html|publisher=hartford-hwp.com}}</ref>


The famous silting up of the harbor for ], which moved port commerce to ], also followed a period of increased settlement growth (and apparently of deforestation) in the upper river basins. In early medieval ] in upper ], alluvial silt from two small rivers raised the riverbeds and widened the floodplain, which slowly buried the Roman settlement in alluvium and gradually moved new construction to higher ground; concurrently the headwater valleys above Riez were being opened to pasturage.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Iyyer|first=Chaitanya|title=Land Management: Challenges & Strategies|publisher=Global India Publications|year=2009|isbn=9789380228488|pages=11}}</ref>
Some nations have taken steps to help increase the amount of trees on Earth. In 1981, China created National Tree Planting Day Forest and forest coverage had now reached 16.55% of China's land mass, as against only 12% two decades ago <ref>John Gittings. ''The Guardian''. 20 March 2001</ref>


A typical ] was that cities were often built in a forested area, which would provide wood for some industry (for example, construction, shipbuilding, pottery). When deforestation occurs without proper replanting, however; local wood supplies become difficult to obtain near enough to remain competitive, leading to the city's abandonment, as happened repeatedly in Ancient ]. Because of fuel needs, mining and metallurgy often led to deforestation and city abandonment.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chew|first=Sing C.|title=World Ecological Degradation|publisher=AltaMira Press|year=2001|location=Oxford, England|pages=69–70}}</ref>
Using fuel from ] rather than wood results in cleaner burning, and since bamboo matures much faster than wood, deforestation is reduced as supply can be replenished faster.<ref name=bamboo>{{cite news|url=http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/13/in-africas-vanishing-forests-the-benefits-of-bamboo/?ref=global-home|title=In Africa’s vanishing forests, the benefits of bamboo|work=New York Times|date=2012-03-13|accessdate=2012-07-26|first=Tina|last=Rosenberg}}</ref>
] {{Circa|1820–1825}}]]
With most of the population remaining active in (or indirectly dependent on) the agricultural sector, the main pressure in most areas remained land ] for crop and cattle farming. Enough wild green was usually left standing (and partially used, for example, to collect firewood, timber and fruits, or to graze pigs) for wildlife to remain viable. The elite's (nobility and higher clergy) protection of their own hunting privileges and game often protected significant woodland.{{cn|date=June 2024}}


Major parts in the spread (and thus more durable growth) of the population were played by monastical 'pioneering' (especially by the ] and ] orders) and some ] lords' recruiting farmers to settle (and become tax payers) by offering relatively good legal and fiscal conditions. Even when speculators sought to encourage towns, settlers needed an agricultural belt around or sometimes within defensive walls. When populations were quickly decreased by causes such as the ], the ],<ref name="Brierley et al 2019">{{cite journal|last1=Koch|first1=Alexander|last2=Brierley|first2=Chris|last3=Maslin|first3=Mark M.|last4=Lewis|first4=Simon L.|year=2019|title=Earth system impacts of the European arrival and Great Dying in the Americas after 1492|journal=Quaternary Science Reviews|volume=207|pages=13–36|bibcode=2019QSRv..207...13K|doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.12.004|doi-access=free}}</ref> or devastating warfare (for example, ]'s ] hordes in eastern and central Europe, ] in Germany), this could lead to settlements being abandoned. The land was reclaimed by nature, but the ]s usually lacked the original ]. The ] alone resulted in the reduction of 700 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere by enabling the re-growth of carbon-absorbing forests on depopulated lands over a significant period of time.<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=20 January 2011|title=War, Plague No Match For Deforestation in Driving CO2 Buildup|url=https://carnegiescience.edu/news/war-plague-no-match-deforestation-driving-co2-buildup|access-date=22 November 2019|publisher=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Q|Q106515792}}</ref>
===Reforestation===
{{Main|Reforestation}}
In many parts of the world, especially in East Asian countries, reforestation and ] are increasing the area of forested lands.<ref>{{cite journal|author = Foley Jonathan A|year = 2005|title = Global Consequences of Land Use|volume = 309|issue = 5734| pages = 570–574|doi = 10.1126/science.1111772|pmid = 16040698|journal = Science|author2 = DeFries Ruth|author3 = Asner Gregory P|author4 = Barford Carol|display-authors = 4|last5 = Bonan|first5 = G|last6 = Carpenter|first6 = SR|last7 = Chapin|first7 = FS|last8 = Coe|first8 = MT|last9 = Daily|first9 = GC }}</ref> The amount of woodland has increased in 22 of the world's 50 most forested nations. Asia as a whole gained 1 million ]s of forest between 2000 and 2005. Tropical forest in El Salvador expanded more than 20% between 1992 and 2001. Based on these trends, one study projects that global forest will increase by 10%—an area the size of India—by 2050.<ref name="news.nationalgeographic.com">James Owen, National Geographic News, 13 November 2006</ref>


] {{Circa|1880–1900}}]]
In the ], where large scale destruction of forests has occurred, the government has in the past required that every able-bodied citizen between the ages of 11 and 60 plant three to five trees per year or do the equivalent amount of work in other forest services. The government claims that at least 1 ] trees have been planted in China every year since 1982. This is no longer required today, but March 12 of every year in China is the Planting Holiday. Also, it has introduced the ] project, which aims to halt the expansion of the Gobi desert through the planting of trees. However, due to the large percentage of trees dying off after planting (up to 75%), the project is not very successful.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} There has been a 47-million-hectare increase in forest area in China since the 1970s.<ref name="news.nationalgeographic.com" /> The total number of trees amounted to be about 35 billion and 4.55% of China's land mass increased in forest coverage. The forest coverage was 12% two decades ago and now is 16.55%.<ref>John Gittings, , World News, 20 March 2001</ref>


From 1100 to 1500 AD, significant deforestation took place in ] as a result of the ].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Groenewoudt|first1=Bert|last2=van Haaster|first2=Henk|last3=van Beek|first3=Roy|last4=Brinkkemper|first4=Otto|date=2007-01-01|title=Towards a reverse image. Botanical research into the landscape history of the eastern Netherlands (1100 B.C.—A.D. 1500)|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/01433768.2007.10594587|journal=Landscape History|volume=29|issue=1|pages=17–33|doi=10.1080/01433768.2007.10594587|issn=0143-3768|s2cid=130658356}}</ref> The large-scale building of wooden sailing ships by European (coastal) naval owners since the 15th century for exploration, ], ], and other trade on the high seas, consumed many forest resources and became responsible for the introduction of numerous ] outbreaks in the 14th century. ] also contributed to the over harvesting of forests, as in Spain. This led to a weakening of the domestic economy after Columbus' discovery of America, as the economy became dependent on colonial activities (plundering, mining, cattle, plantations, trade, etc.){{cn|date=June 2024}}
An ambitious proposal for China is the Aerially Delivered Re-forestation and Erosion Control System and the proposed Sahara Forest Project coupled with the ].


The massive use of ] on an industrial scale in ] was a new type of consumption of western forests.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Knapp|first1=Hannes|last2=Nelle|first2=Oliver|last3=Kirleis|first3=Wiebke|date=2015-04-24|title=Charcoal usage in medieval and modern times in the Harz Mountains Area, Central Germany: Wood selection and fast overexploitation of the woodlands|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040618215000774|journal=Quaternary International|volume=366|pages=51–69|doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2015.01.053|bibcode=2015QuInt.366...51K|issn=1040-6182}}</ref> Each of Nelson's ] war ships at Trafalgar (1805) required 6,000 mature oaks for its construction.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}} In France, ] planted ] forests to supply the French navy in the future. When the oak plantations matured in the mid-19th century, the masts were no longer required because shipping had changed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-05-19 |title=Make Wine Not War: The Story of Napoleon and France's Oak Forests |url=http://clustercrush.com/make-wine-not-war-the-story-of-napoleon-and-frances-oak-forests/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=Cluster Crush |language=en-US}}</ref>
In Western countries, increasing consumer demand for wood products that have been produced and harvested in a sustainable manner is causing forest landowners and forest industries to become increasingly accountable for their forest management and timber harvesting practices.


Efforts to stop or slow deforestation have been attempted for many centuries because it has long been known that deforestation can cause environmental damage sufficient in some cases to cause societies to collapse. In ], paramount rulers developed policies designed to prevent conflicts between short-term gains from converting forest to farmland and long-term problems forest loss would cause,<ref>Diamond, Jared ''Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed''; Viking Press 2004, pp. 301–302 {{ISBN|0-14-311700-9}}.</ref> while during the 17th and 18th centuries in ], Japan,<ref>Diamond, Jared ''Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed''; Viking Press 2004, pp. 320–331 {{ISBN|0-14-311700-9}}.</ref> the shōguns developed a highly sophisticated system of long-term planning to stop and even reverse deforestation of the preceding centuries through substituting timber by other products and more efficient use of land that had been farmed for many centuries.
The ]'s Rain Forest Rescue program is a charity that helps to prevent deforestation. The charity uses donated money to buy up and preserve rainforest land before the ] companies can buy it. The Arbor Day Foundation then protects the land from deforestation. This also locks in the way of life of the primitive tribes living on the forest land. Organizations such as ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] also focus on preserving forest habitats. Greenpeace in particular has also mapped out the forests that are still intact<ref></ref> and published this information on the internet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intactforests.org|work=intactforests.org|title=World Intact Forests campaign by Greenpeace}}</ref> World Resources Institute in turn has made a simpler thematic map<ref>, WRI</ref> showing the amount of forests present just before the age of man (8000 years ago) and the current (reduced) levels of forest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/maps/pdf/WOR_THEM_Forests.pdf|title=Alternative thematic map by Howstuffworks; in pdf|format=PDF}}</ref> These maps mark the amount of afforestation required to repair the damage caused by people.


In 16th-century Germany, landowners also developed ] to deal with the problem of deforestation. However, these policies tend to be limited to environments with ''good rainfall'', ''no dry season'' and ''very young ]s'' (through ] or ]). This is because on older and less fertile soils trees grow too slowly for silviculture to be economic, whilst in areas with a strong dry season there is always a risk of forest fires destroying a tree crop before it matures.
===Forest plantations===
To meet the world's demand for wood, it has been suggested by forestry writers Botkins and ] that high-yielding forest ] are suitable. It has been calculated that plantations yielding 10 cubic meters per hectare annually could supply all the timber required for international trade on 5% of the world's existing forestland. By contrast, natural forests produce about 1–2 cubic meters per hectare; therefore, 5–10 times more forestland would be required to meet demand. Forester Chad Oliver has suggested a forest mosaic with high-yield forest lands interpersed with conservation land.<ref>{{cite book|author=Daniel B. Botkin|title=No man's garden: Thoreau and a new vision for civilization and nature|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=OvF40zunJR4C&pg=PA246|accessdate=4 December 2011|year=2001|publisher=Island Press|isbn=978-1-55963-465-6|pages=246–247}}</ref>


=== 19th and 20th centuries ===
In the country of Senegal, on the western coast of Africa, a movement headed by youths has helped to plant over 6 million mangrove trees. The trees will protect local villages from storm damages and will provide a habitat for local wildlife. The project started in 2008, and already the Senegalese government has been asked to establish rules and regulations that would protect the new mangrove forests.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stenstrup|first=Allen|title=Forests|year=2010|publisher=Morgan Reynolds Publishing|location=Greensboro, North Carolina|isbn=978-1-59935-116-2|page=89}}</ref>
]) ''circa'' 1920, during the ]]]{{See also|Deforestation by continent}}


==== Steamboats ====
==Military context==
In the 19th century, the introduction of ]s in the ] was the cause of deforestation of banks of major rivers, such as the ], with increased and more severe flooding one of the environmental results. The steamboat crews cut wood daily from the riverbanks to fuel the steam engines. Between ] and the confluence with the ] to the south, the Mississippi became broader and shallower and changed its channel laterally. Attempts to improve navigation by the use of ] often resulted in crews' ] large trees 100 to {{convert|200|ft|m}} back from the banks. Several French colonial towns of the ], such as ], ] and St. Philippe, ], were flooded and abandoned in the late 19th century, with a loss to the cultural record of their ].<ref>Norris, F. Terry (1997) , in ''Common Fields: an environmental history of St. Louis'', Andrew Hurley, ed., St. Louis, MO: Missouri Historical Society Press, pp. 73–89. {{ISBN|978-1-883982-15-7}}.</ref>
] knocked out by Japanese artillery on Okinawa.]]While the preponderance of deforestation is due to demands for agricultural and urban use for the human population, there are some examples of military causes. One example of deliberate deforestation is that which took place in the U.S. ] in Germany after World War II. Before the onset of the ], defeated Germany was still considered a potential future threat rather than potential future ally. To address this threat, attempts were made to ], of which forests were deemed an element. Sources in the U.S. government admitted that the purpose of this was that the "ultimate destruction of the war potential of German forests." As a consequence of the practice of clear-felling, deforestation resulted which could "be replaced only by long forestry development over perhaps a century."<ref>Nicholas Balabkins, "Germany Under Direct Controls; Economic Aspects Of Industrial Disarmament 1945–1948, Rutgers University Press, 1964. p. 119. The two quotes used by Balabkins are referenced to, respectively: U.S. office of Military Government, ''A Year of Potsdam: The German Economy Since the Surrender'' (1946), p. 70; and U.S. Office of Military Government, ''The German Forest Resources Survey'' (1948), p. II. For similar observations see G.W. Harmssen, ''Reparationen, Sozialproduct, Lebensstandard'' (Bremen: F. Trujen Verlag, 1948), I, 48</ref>


== Society and culture ==
] can also be a cause of deforestation, either deliberately such as through the use of ]<ref>"Encyclopedia of World Environmental History". Routledge, 2004. ISBN 0-415-93733-7</ref> during the ] where, together with bombs and bulldozers, it contributed to the destruction of 44% of the forest cover,<ref>{{cite book|author=M. Patricia Marchak|title=Logging the globe|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Oi-xLllDK8oC&pg=PA157|accessdate=4 December 2011|date=18 September 1995|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press – MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-1346-4|pages=157–}}</ref> or inadvertently such as in the 1945 ] where bombardment and other combat operations reduced the lush tropical landscape into "a vast field of mud, lead, decay and maggots".<ref>Takejiro Higa,
Different cultures of different places in the world have different interpretations of the actions of the cutting down of trees. For example, in ] and ] of ] (India), deforestation is mentioned as one of the reasons to make ] weep and mourn for the death of her precious children.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Ch Manihar|url=|title=A History of Manipuri Literature|publisher=]|year=1996|isbn=978-81-260-0086-9|pages=16, 17|language=en, mni}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Datta|first1=Bīrendranātha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uRvaAAAAMAAJ|title=A Handbook of Folklore Material of North-East India|last2=Śarmā|first2=Nabīnacandra|publisher=Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art & Culture, Assam|year=1994|location=India|pages=356|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Barua|first=Lalit Kumar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AoECgkZ0Wu0C|title=Oral Tradition and Folk Heritage of North East India|publisher=Spectrum Publications|year=1999|isbn=978-81-87502-02-9|location=India|pages=71|language=en}}</ref>
Military Intelligence Service, , The Hawaii Nisei Project</ref>
{{See also|Environmental issues with war}}


==See also== ==See also==
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==References==
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== Notes ==
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{{efn|name = IPCC-2019-367-a|«The trends of productivity shown by several remote-sensing studies (see previous section) are largely consistent with mapping of forest cover and change using a 34-year time series of coarse resolution satellite data (NOAA AVHRR) (Song et al. 2018). This study, based on a thematic classification of satellite data, suggests that (i) global tree canopy cover increased by 2.24 million km² between 1982 and 2016 (corresponding to +7.1%) but with regional differences that contribute a net loss in the tropics and a net gain at higher latitudes, and (ii) the fraction of bare ground decreased by 1.16 million km² (corresponding to {{hyphen}}3.1%), mainly in agricultural regions of Asia (Song et al. 2018), see Figure 4.5. Other tree or land cover datasets show opposite global net trends (Li et al. 2018b), but high agreement in terms of net losses in the tropics and large net gains in the temperate and boreal zones (Li et al. 2018b; Song et al. 2018; Hansen et al. 2013).» {{ harvnb|IPCC|2019a|p = 367}}.}}
;General references
{{Refbegin}}
*BBC 2005 TV series on the history of geological factors shaping human history (name?)
*''A Natural History of Europe'' – 2005 co-production including BBC and ZDF
*Whitney, Gordon G. (1996). ''From Coastal Wilderness to Fruited Plain : A History of Environmental Change in Temperate North America from 1500 to the Present''. ]. ISBN 0-521-57658-X
*Williams, Michael. (2003). ''Deforesting the Earth''. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. ISBN 0-226-89926-8
*Wunder, Sven. (2000). ''The Economics of Deforestation: The Example of Ecuador''. ], London. ISBN 0-333-73146-8
*FAO&CIFOR report:
*{{Cite book|url=http://books.google.com/?id=g6RfkqCUQyQC&pg=PA147&dq=oxygen+percent+algae+plants |title=Plants: the potentials for extracting protein, medicines, and other useful chemicals (workshop proceedings) |year=1983 |month=September |chapter=Marine Plants: A Unique and Unexplored Resource |last=Fenical |first=William |page=147 |isbn=1-4289-2397-7 |publisher=DIANE Publishing}}
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;Ethiopia deforestation references
{{Refbegin}}
*Parry, J. (2003). Tree choppers become tree planters. Appropriate Technology, 30(4), 38–39. Retrieved November 22, 2006, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 538367341).
*Hillstrom, K & Hillstrom, C. (2003). Africa and the Middle east. A continental Overview of Environmental Issues. Santabarbara, CA: ABC CLIO.
*Williams, M. (2006). Deforesting the earth: From prehistory to global crisis: An Abridgment. Chicago: The university of Chicago Press.
*Mccann. J.C. (1990). A Great Agrarian cycle? Productivity in Highland Ethiopia, 1900 To 1987. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, xx: 3,389–416. Retrieved November 18, 2006, from JSTOR database.
{{Refend}}


==External links== ==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Commons|Deforestation}}
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*: Investigations into illegal logging.
* Reports and info.
* The Guardian
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=== Sources ===
;In the media
{{Free-content attribution
*March 14, 2007, '']'':
|title = Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 Key findings
|author = FAO
|publisher = FAO
|page numbers =
|source =
|documentURL = http://www.fao.org/3/CA8753EN/CA8753EN.pdf
|license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/File:Global_Forest_Resources_Assessment_2020_%E2%80%93_Key_findings.pdf
|license = CC BY-SA 3.0
}}


{{Free-content attribution
;Films online
|title = The State of the World’s Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people – In brief
*Watch the ] documentaries &
|author = FAO & UNEP
*
|publisher = FAO & UNEP
|page numbers =
|source =
|documentURL = https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8985en
|license statement URL = https://commons.wikimedia.org/File:The_State_of_the_World%E2%80%99s_Forests_2020._In_brief.pdf
|license = CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
}}


==External links==
{{deforestation and desertification|state=expanded}}
{{Commons}}
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* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722152721/http://uk.oneworld.net/guides/forests|date=22 July 2011}}
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418233540/http://www.effects-of-deforestation.com/|date=18 April 2021}}
*
* {{cite journal|url=https://ourworldindata.org/drivers-of-deforestation|title=Drivers of Deforestation|journal=]|date=9 February 2021|last1=Ritchie|first1=Hannah|last2=Roser|first2=Max}}

{{Deforestation and desertification|state=expanded}}
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Latest revision as of 15:43, 29 November 2024

Conversion of forest to non-forest for human use "Forest clearing" redirects here. For a gap in a forest, see Glade (geography). "Deforest" redirects here. For other uses, see DeForest (disambiguation). For "deforestation" in computer science, see Deforestation (computer science).

Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil's Maranhão state, 2016
Deforestation in Riau province, Sumatra, Indonesia to make way for an oil palm plantation in 2007.
Deforestation in the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state, 2009

Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests at present. This is one-third less than the forest cover before the expansion of agriculture, with half of that loss occurring in the last century. Between 15 million to 18 million hectares of forest, an area the size of Bangladesh, are destroyed every year. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute. Estimates vary widely as to the extent of deforestation in the tropics. In 2019, nearly a third of the overall tree cover loss, or 3.8 million hectares, occurred within humid tropical primary forests. These are areas of mature rainforest that are especially important for biodiversity and carbon storage.

The direct cause of most deforestation is agriculture by far. More than 80% of deforestation was attributed to agriculture in 2018. Forests are being converted to plantations for coffee, palm oil, rubber and various other popular products. Livestock grazing also drives deforestation. Further drivers are the wood industry (logging), urbanization and mining. The effects of climate change are another cause via the increased risk of wildfires (see deforestation and climate change).

Deforestation results in habitat destruction which in turn leads to biodiversity loss. Deforestation also leads to extinction of animals and plants, changes to the local climate, and displacement of indigenous people who live in forests. Deforested regions often also suffer from other environmental problems such as desertification and soil erosion.

Another problem is that deforestation reduces the uptake of carbon dioxide (carbon sequestration) from the atmosphere. This reduces the potential of forests to assist with climate change mitigation. The role of forests in capturing and storing carbon and mitigating climate change is also important for the agricultural sector. The reason for this linkage is because the effects of climate change on agriculture pose new risks to global food systems.

Since 1990, it is estimated that some 420 million hectares of forest have been lost through conversion to other land uses, although the rate of deforestation has decreased over the past three decades. Between 2015 and 2020, the rate of deforestation was estimated at 10 million hectares per year, down from 16 million hectares per year in the 1990s. The area of primary forest worldwide has decreased by over 80 million hectares since 1990. More than 100 million hectares of forests are adversely affected by forest fires, pests, diseases, invasive species, drought and adverse weather events.

Definition

This screen shot shows a map that highlights countries based on their net change rate of forest area. Areas that appear more blue have a higher net change rate than areas that appear tan. Brown areas indicate a net loss of forest area.
Forest area net change rate per country in 2020

Deforestation is defined as the conversion of forest to other land uses (regardless of whether it is human-induced).

Deforestation and forest area net change are not the same: the latter is the sum of all forest losses (deforestation) and all forest gains (forest expansion) in a given period. Net change, therefore, can be positive or negative, depending on whether gains exceed losses, or vice versa.

Current status by continent, region, country

Annual deforestation
Annual change in forest area

The FAO estimates that the global forest carbon stock has decreased 0.9%, and tree cover 4.2% between 1990 and 2020.

Changes in forest carbon stock by region
Figures in gigatons
Region 1990 2020
Europe (including Russia) 158.7 172.4
North America 136.6 140.0
Africa 94.3 80.9
South and Southeast Asia combined 45.8 41.5
Oceania 33.4 33.1
Central America 5.0 4.1
South America 161.8 144.8

As of 2019 there is still disagreement about whether the global forest is shrinking or not: "While above-ground biomass carbon stocks are estimated to be declining in the tropics, they are increasing globally due to increasing stocks in temperate and boreal forest.

Deforestation in many countries—both naturally occurring and human-induced—is an ongoing issue. Between 2000 and 2012, 2.3 million square kilometres (890,000 square miles) of forests around the world were cut down. Deforestation and forest degradation continue to take place at alarming rates, which contributes significantly to the ongoing loss of biodiversity.

The amount of globally needed agricultural land would be reduced by three quarters if the entire population adopted a vegan diet.

Deforestation is more extreme in tropical and subtropical forests in emerging economies. More than half of all plant and land animal species in the world live in tropical forests. As a result of deforestation, only 6.2 million square kilometres (2.4 million square miles) remain of the original 16 million square kilometres (6 million square miles) of tropical rainforest that formerly covered the Earth. More than 3.6 million hectares of virgin tropical forest was lost in 2018.

The global annual net loss of trees is estimated to be approximately 10 billion. According to the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 the global average annual deforested land in the 2015–2020 demi-decade was 10 million hectares and the average annual forest area net loss in the 2000–2010 decade was 4.7 million hectares. The world has lost 178 million ha of forest since 1990, which is an area about the size of Libya.

An analysis of global deforestation patterns in 2021 showed that patterns of trade, production, and consumption drive deforestation rates in complex ways. While the location of deforestation can be mapped, it does not always match where the commodity is consumed. For example, consumption patterns in G7 countries are estimated to cause an average loss of 3.9 trees per person per year. In other words, deforestation can be directly related to imports—for example, coffee.

In 2023, the Global Forest Watch reported a 9% decline in tropical primary forest loss compared to the previous year, with significant regional reductions in Brazil and Colombia overshadowed by increases elsewhere, leading to a 3.2% rise in global deforestation. Massive wildfires in Canada, exacerbated by climate change, contributed to a 24% increase in global tree cover loss, highlighting the ongoing threats to forests essential for carbon storage and biodiversity. Despite some progress, the overall trends in forest destruction and climate impacts remain off track.

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report stated in 2022: “Over 420 million ha of forest were lost to deforestation from 1990 to 2020; more than 90% of that loss took place in tropical areas (high confidence), threatening biodiversity, environmental services, livelihoods of forest communities and resilience to climate shocks (high confidence).”

See also:

Rates of deforestation

The period since 1950 has brought "the most rapid transformation of the human relationship with the natural world in the history of humankind".Through 2018, humans have reduced forest area by ~30% and grasslands/shrubs by ~68%, to make way for livestock grazing and crops for humans.

Global deforestation sharply accelerated around 1852. As of 1947, the planet had 15 to 16 million km (5.8 to 6.2 million sq mi) of mature tropical forests, but by 2015, it was estimated that about half of these had been destroyed. Total land coverage by tropical rainforests decreased from 14% to 6%. Much of this loss happened between 1960 and 1990, when 20% of all tropical rainforests were destroyed. At this rate, extinction of such forests is projected to occur by the mid-21st century.

In the early 2000s, some scientists predicted that unless significant measures (such as seeking out and protecting old growth forests that have not been disturbed) are taken on a worldwide basis, by 2030 there will only be 10% remaining, with another 10% in a degraded condition. 80% will have been lost, and with them hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable species.

Estimates vary widely as to the extent of deforestation in the tropics. In 2019, the world lost nearly 12 million hectares of tree cover. Nearly a third of that loss, 3.8 million hectares, occurred within humid tropical primary forests, areas of mature rainforest that are especially important for biodiversity and carbon storage. This is equivalent to losing an area of primary forest the size of a football pitch every six seconds.

Rates of change

In decades since 1990, South America and Africa have shown the greatest loss of forest area, with global net loss in the 2010s still about 60% of the 1990s value.
The rate of global tree cover loss has approximately doubled since 2001, to an annual loss approaching an area the size of Italy.Loss of primary (old-growth) forest in the tropics has continued its upward trend, with fire-related losses contributing an increasing portion.

A 2002 analysis of satellite imagery suggested that the rate of deforestation in the humid tropics (approximately 5.8 million hectares per year) was roughly 23% lower than the most commonly quoted rates. A 2005 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that although the Earth's total forest area continued to decrease at about 13 million hectares per year, the global rate of deforestation had been slowing. On the other hand, a 2005 analysis of satellite images reveals that deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is twice as fast as scientists previously estimated.

From 2010 to 2015, worldwide forest area decreased by 3.3 million ha per year, according to FAO. During this five-year period, the biggest forest area loss occurred in the tropics, particularly in South America and Africa. Per capita forest area decline was also greatest in the tropics and subtropics but is occurring in every climatic domain (except in the temperate) as populations increase.

An estimated 420 million ha of forest has been lost worldwide through deforestation since 1990, but the rate of forest loss has declined substantially. In the most recent five-year period (2015–2020), the annual rate of deforestation was estimated at 10 million ha, down from 12 million ha in 2010–2015.

Home to much of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil's tropical primary (old-growth) forest loss greatly exceeds that of other countries.Overall, 20% of the Amazon rainforest has been "transformed" (deforested) and another 6% has been "highly degraded", causing Amazon Watch to warn that the Amazonia is in the midst of a tipping point crisis.

Africa had the largest annual rate of net forest loss in 2010–2020, at 3.9 million ha, followed by South America, at 2.6 million ha. The rate of net forest loss has increased in Africa in each of the three decades since 1990. It has declined substantially in South America, however, to about half the rate in 2010–2020 compared with 2000–2010. Asia had the highest net gain of forest area in 2010–2020, followed by Oceania and Europe. Nevertheless, both Europe and Asia recorded substantially lower rates of net gain in 2010–2020 than in 2000–2010. Oceania experienced net losses of forest area in the decades 1990–2000 and 2000–2010.

Some claim that rainforests are being destroyed at an ever-quickening pace. The London-based Rainforest Foundation notes that "the UN figure is based on a definition of forest as being an area with as little as 10% actual tree cover, which would therefore include areas that are actually savanna-like ecosystems and badly damaged forests". Other critics of the FAO data point out that they do not distinguish between forest types, and that they are based largely on reporting from forestry departments of individual countries, which do not take into account unofficial activities like illegal logging. Despite these uncertainties, there is agreement that destruction of rainforests remains a significant environmental problem.

The rate of net forest loss declined from 7.8 million ha per year in the decade 1990–2000 to 5.2 million ha per year in 2000–2010 and 4.7 million ha per year in 2010–2020. The rate of decline of net forest loss slowed in the most recent decade due to a reduction in the rate of forest expansion.

Reforestation and afforestation

Main articles: Reforestation and Afforestation

In many parts of the world, especially in East Asian countries, reforestation and afforestation are increasing the area of forested lands. The amount of forest has increased in 22 of the world's 50 most forested nations. Asia as a whole gained 1 million hectares of forest between 2000 and 2005. Tropical forest in El Salvador expanded more than 20% between 1992 and 2001. Based on these trends, one study projects that global forestation will increase by 10%—an area the size of India—by 2050. 36% of globally planted forest area is in East Asia – around 950,000 square kilometers. From those 87% are in China.

Status by region

Main article: Deforestation by continent

Rates of deforestation vary around the world. Up to 90% of West Africa's coastal rainforests have disappeared since 1900. Madagascar has lost 90% of its eastern rainforests. In South Asia, about 88% of the rainforests have been lost.

Mexico, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Bangladesh, China, Sri Lanka, Laos, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Guinea, Ghana and the Ivory Coast, have lost large areas of their rainforest.

Satellite imagery of locations of the 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires as detected by MODIS from August 15 to August 22, 2019
Deforestation in Ecuador.

Much of what remains of the world's rainforests is in the Amazon basin, where the Amazon Rainforest covers approximately 4 million square kilometres. Some 80% of the deforestation of the Amazon can be attributed to cattle ranching, as Brazil is the largest exporter of beef in the world. The Amazon region has become one of the largest cattle ranching territories in the world. The regions with the highest tropical deforestation rate between 2000 and 2005 were Central America—which lost 1.3% of its forests each year—and tropical Asia. In Central America, two-thirds of lowland tropical forests have been turned into pasture since 1950 and 40% of all the rainforests have been lost in the last 40 years. Brazil has lost 90–95% of its Mata Atlântica forest. Deforestation in Brazil increased by 88% for the month of June 2019, as compared with the previous year. However, Brazil still destroyed 1.3 million hectares in 2019. Brazil is one of several countries that have declared their deforestation a national emergency. Paraguay was losing its natural semi-humid forests in the country's western regions at a rate of 15,000 hectares at a randomly studied 2-month period in 2010. In 2009, Paraguay's parliament refused to pass a law that would have stopped cutting of natural forests altogether.

As of 2007, less than 50% of Haiti's forests remained.

From 2015 to 2019, the rate of deforestation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo doubled. In 2021, deforestation of the Congolese rainforest increased by 5%.

The World Wildlife Fund's ecoregion project catalogues habitat types throughout the world, including habitat loss such as deforestation, showing for example that even in the rich forests of parts of Canada such as the Mid-Continental Canadian forests of the prairie provinces half of the forest cover has been lost or altered.

In 2011, Conservation International listed the top 10 most endangered forests, characterized by having all lost 90% or more of their original habitat, and each harboring at least 1500 endemic plant species (species found nowhere else in the world).

As of 2015, it is estimated that 70% of the world's forests are within one kilometer of a forest edge, where they are most prone to human interference and destruction.

Top 10 Most Endangered Forests in 2011
Endangered forest Region Remaining habitat Predominate vegetation type Notes
Indo-Burma Asia-Pacific 5% Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Rivers, floodplain wetlands, mangrove forests. Burma, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, India.
New Caledonia Asia-Pacific 5% Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests See note for region covered.
Sundaland Asia-Pacific 7% Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Western half of the Indo-Malayan archipelago including southern Borneo and Sumatra.
Philippines Asia-Pacific 7% Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Forests over the entire country including 7,100 islands.
Atlantic Forest South America 8% Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Forests along Brazil's Atlantic coast, extends to parts of Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.
Mountains of Southwest China Asia-Pacific 8% Temperate coniferous forest See note for region covered.
California Floristic Province North America 10% Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests See note for region covered.
Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa Africa 10% Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia.
Madagascar & Indian Ocean Islands Africa 10% Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles, Comoros.
Eastern Afromontane Africa 11% Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
Montane grasslands and shrublands
Forests scattered along the eastern edge of Africa, from Saudi Arabia in the north to Zimbabwe in the south.

By country

Deforestation in particular countries:

Deforestation by country
  • Afghanistan
  • Albania
  • Angola
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina
  • Armenia
  • Australia
  • Bangladesh
  • Belize
  • Bhutan
  • Bolivia
  • Brazil
  • Burundi
  • Cambodia
  • Canada
  • Chad
  • Chile
  • China
  • Colombia
  • Costa Rica
  • Cuba
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo
  • El Salvador
  • Eritrea
  • Estonia
  • Ethiopia
  • France
  • Georgia
  • Ghana
  • Guatemala
  • Guinea
  • Haiti
  • Honduras
  • Iceland
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Iran
  • Ivory Coast
  • Kenya
  • Laos
  • Liberia
  • Madagascar
  • Malaysia
  • Mali
  • Mexico
  • Mongolia
  • Myanmar
  • Nepal
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Nigeria
  • North Korea
  • North Macedonia
  • Pakistan
  • Panama
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Russia
  • Rwanda
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Senegal
  • Serbia
  • Sierra Leone
  • Singapore
  • Somalia
  • South Africa
  • South Korea
  • Spain
  • Sri Lanka
  • Sudan
  • Suriname
  • Syria
  • Taiwan
  • Tajikistan
  • Thailand
  • Togo
  • Turkey
  • Uganda
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Uruguay
  • Venezuela
  • Vietnam
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe
  • Causes

    See also: Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest § Causes of deforestation, and Deforestation in Brazil § Causes
    Drivers of deforestation and forest degradation by region, 2000–2010
    Drivers of tropical deforestration
    The last batch of sawnwood from the peat forest in Indragiri Hulu, Sumatra, Indonesia. Deforestation for oil palm plantation.

    Agricultural expansion continues to be the main driver of deforestation and forest fragmentation and the associated loss of forest biodiversity. Large-scale commercial agriculture (primarily cattle ranching and cultivation of soya bean and oil palm) accounted for 40 percent of tropical deforestation between 2000 and 2010, and local subsistence agriculture for another 33 percent. Trees are cut down for use as building material, timber or sold as fuel (sometimes in the form of charcoal or timber), while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock and agricultural crops.

    The vast majority of agricultural activity resulting in deforestation is subsidized by government tax revenue. Disregard of ascribed value, lax forest management, and deficient environmental laws are some of the factors that lead to large-scale deforestation.

    The types of drivers vary greatly depending on the region in which they take place. The regions with the greatest amount of deforestation for livestock and row crop agriculture are Central and South America, while commodity crop deforestation was found mainly in Southeast Asia. The region with the greatest forest loss due to shifting agriculture was sub-Saharan Africa.

    Agriculture

    Further information: Agricultural expansion

    The overwhelming direct cause of deforestation is agriculture. Subsistence farming is responsible for 48% of deforestation; commercial agriculture is responsible for 32%; logging is responsible for 14%, and fuel wood removals make up 5%.

    More than 80% of deforestation was attributed to agriculture in 2018. Forests are being converted to plantations for coffee, tea, palm oil, rice, rubber, and various other popular products. The rising demand for certain products and global trade arrangements causes forest conversions, which ultimately leads to soil erosion. The top soil oftentimes erodes after forests are cleared which leads to sediment increase in rivers and streams.

    Anthropogenic biomes of the world

    Most deforestation also occurs in tropical regions. The estimated amount of total land mass used by agriculture is around 38%.

    Since 1960, roughly 15% of the Amazon has been removed with the intention of replacing the land with agricultural practices. It is no coincidence that Brazil has recently become the world's largest beef exporter at the same time that the Amazon rainforest is being clear cut.

    Another prevalent method of agricultural deforestation is slash-and-burn agriculture, which was primarily used by subsistence farmers in tropical regions but has now become increasingly less sustainable. The method does not leave land for continuous agricultural production but instead cuts and burns small plots of forest land which are then converted into agricultural zones. The farmers then exploit the nutrients in the ashes of the burned plants. As well as, intentionally set fires can possibly lead to devastating measures when unintentionally spreading fire to more land, which can result in the destruction of the protective canopy.

    The repeated cycle of low yields and shortened fallow periods eventually results in less vegetation being able to grow on once burned lands and a decrease in average soil biomass. In small local plots sustainability is not an issue because of longer fallow periods and lesser overall deforestation. The relatively small size of the plots allowed for no net input of CO2 to be released.

    Livestock ranching

    Consumption and production of beef is the primary driver of deforestation in the Amazon, with around 80% of all converted land being used to rear cattle. 91% of Amazon land deforested since 1970 has been converted to cattle ranching.

    Livestock ranching requires large portions of land to raise herds of animals and livestock crops for consumer needs. According to the World Wildlife Fund, "Extensive cattle ranching is the number one culprit of deforestation in virtually every Amazon country, and it accounts for 80% of current deforestation."

    The cattle industry is responsible for a significant amount of methane emissions since 60% of all mammals on earth are livestock cows. Replacing forest land with pastures creates a loss of forest stock, which leads to the implication of increased greenhouse gas emissions by burning agriculture methodologies and land-use change.

    Wood industry

    Further information: Wood industry

    A large contributing factor to deforestation is the lumber industry. A total of almost 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) of timber, or about 1.3% of all forest land, is harvested each year. In addition, the increasing demand for low-cost timber products only supports the lumber company to continue logging.

    Experts do not agree on whether industrial logging is an important contributor to global deforestation. Some argue that poor people are more likely to clear forest because they have no alternatives, others that the poor lack the ability to pay for the materials and labour needed to clear forest.

    Economic development

    Other causes of contemporary deforestation may include corruption of government institutions, the inequitable distribution of wealth and power, population growth and overpopulation, and urbanization. The impact of population growth on deforestation has been contested. One study found that population increases due to high fertility rates were a primary driver of tropical deforestation in only 8% of cases. In 2000 the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that "the role of population dynamics in a local setting may vary from decisive to negligible", and that deforestation can result from "a combination of population pressure and stagnating economic, social and technological conditions".

    Globalization is often viewed as another root cause of deforestation, though there are cases in which the impacts of globalization (new flows of labor, capital, commodities, and ideas) have promoted localized forest recovery.

    Illegal gold mining in Madre de Dios, Peru.

    The degradation of forest ecosystems has also been traced to economic incentives that make forest conversion appear more profitable than forest conservation. Many important forest functions have no markets, and hence, no economic value that is readily apparent to the forests' owners or the communities that rely on forests for their well-being.

    Some commentators have noted a shift in the drivers of deforestation over the past 30 years. Whereas deforestation was primarily driven by subsistence activities and government-sponsored development projects like transmigration in countries like Indonesia and colonization in Latin America, India, Java, and so on, during the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, by the 1990s the majority of deforestation was caused by industrial factors, including extractive industries, large-scale cattle ranching, and extensive agriculture. Since 2001, commodity-driven deforestation, which is more likely to be permanent, has accounted for about a quarter of all forest disturbance, and this loss has been concentrated in South America and Southeast Asia.

    As the human population grows, new homes, communities, and expansions of cities will occur, leading to an increase in roads to connect these communities. Rural roads promote economic development but also facilitate deforestation. About 90% of the deforestation has occurred within 100 km of roads in most parts of the Amazon.

    Mining

    The importance of mining as a cause of deforestation increased quickly in the beginning the 21st century, among other because of increased demand for minerals. The direct impact of mining is relatively small, but the indirect impacts are much more significant. More than a third of the earth's forests are possibly impacted, at some level and in the years 2001–2021, "755,861 km... ...had been deforested by causes indirectly related to mining activities alongside other deforestation drivers (based on data from WWF)"

    In the year 2023, mining, including for the elements needed for the energy transition strongly contributed to deforestation. Mining is a particular threat to biodiversity: "in 2019, 79 percent of global metal ore extraction originated from five of the six most species-rich biomes".

    Climate change

    Another cause of deforestation is due to the effects of climate change: More wildfires, insect outbreaks, invasive species, and more frequent extreme weather events (such as storms) are factors that increase deforestation.

    A study suggests that "tropical, arid and temperate forests are experiencing a significant decline in resilience, probably related to increased water limitations and climate variability" which may shift ecosystems towards critical transitions and ecosystem collapses. By contrast, "boreal forests show divergent local patterns with an average increasing trend in resilience, probably benefiting from warming and CO2 fertilization, which may outweigh the adverse effects of climate change". It has been proposed that a loss of resilience in forests "can be detected from the increased temporal autocorrelation (TAC) in the state of the system, reflecting a decline in recovery rates due to the critical slowing down (CSD) of system processes that occur at thresholds".

    23% of tree cover losses result from wildfires and climate change increase their frequency and power. The rising temperatures cause massive wildfires especially in the Boreal forests. One possible effect is the change of the forest composition. Deforestation can also cause forests to become more fire prone through mechanisms such as logging.

    Military causes

    See also: Environmental impact of war
    U.S. Army Huey helicopter spraying Agent Orange during the Vietnam War

    Operations in war can also cause deforestation. For example, in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa, bombardment and other combat operations reduced a lush tropical landscape into "a vast field of mud, lead, decay and maggots".

    Deforestation can also result from the intentional tactics of military forces. Clearing forests became an element in the Russian Empire's successful conquest of the Caucasus in the mid-19th century. The British (during the Malayan Emergency) and the United States (in the Korean War and in the Vietnam War) used defoliants (like Agent Orange or others). The destruction of forests in Vietnam War is one of the most commonly used examples of ecocide, including by Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, lawyers, historians and other academics.

    Impacts

    On atmosphere and climate

    Further information: Deforestation and climate change
    Biophysical mechanisms by which forests influence climate.
    Per capita CO2 emissions from deforestation for food production
    Illegal "slash-and-burn" practice in Madagascar, 2010
    Mean annual carbon loss from tropical deforestation.

    Deforestation is a major contributor to climate change. It is often cited as one of the major causes of the enhanced greenhouse effect. Recent calculations suggest that CO2 emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (excluding peatland emissions) contribute about 12% of total anthropogenic CO2 emissions, with a range from 6% to 17%. A 2022 study shows annual carbon emissions from tropical deforestation have doubled during the last two decades and continue to increase: by 0.97 ± 0.16 PgC (petagrams of carbon, i.e. billions of tons) per year in 2001–2005 to 1.99 ± 0.13 PgC per year in 2015–2019.

    According to a review, north of 50°N, large scale deforestation leads to an overall net global cooling; but deforestation in the tropics leads to substantial warming: not just due to CO2 impacts, but also due to other biophysical mechanisms (making carbon-centric metrics inadequate). Moreover, it suggests that standing tropical forests help cool the average global temperature by more than 1 °C. According to a later study, deforestation in northern latitudes can also increase warming, while the conclusion about cooling from deforestation in these areas made by previous studies results from the failure of models to properly capture the effects of evapotranspiration.

    The incineration and burning of forest plants to clear land releases large amounts of CO2, which contributes to global warming. Scientists also state that tropical deforestation releases 1.5 billion tons of carbon each year into the atmosphere.

    Carbon sink or source

    See also: Carbon sequestration, Carbon sink, and Biomass (energy) § Climate impacts

    A study suggests logged and structurally degraded tropical forests are carbon sources for at least a decade – even when recovering – due to larger carbon losses from soil organic matter and deadwood, indicating that the tropical forest carbon sink (at least in South Asia) "may be much smaller than previously estimated", contradicting that "recovering logged and degraded tropical forests are net carbon sinks".

    Fires on Borneo and Sumatra, 2006. People use slash-and-burn deforestation to clear land for agriculture.
    This section is an excerpt from Carbon sequestration § Forestry.
    Proportion of carbon stock in forest carbon pools, 2020

    Forests are an important part of the global carbon cycle because trees and plants absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. Therefore, they play an important role in climate change mitigation. By removing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide from the air, forests function as terrestrial carbon sinks, meaning they store large amounts of carbon in the form of biomass, encompassing roots, stems, branches, and leaves. Throughout their lifespan, trees continue to sequester carbon, storing atmospheric CO2 long-term. Sustainable forest management, afforestation, reforestation are therefore important contributions to climate change mitigation.

    An important consideration in such efforts is that forests can turn from sinks to carbon sources. In 2019 forests took up a third less carbon than they did in the 1990s, due to higher temperatures, droughts and deforestation. The typical tropical forest may become a carbon source by the 2060s.

    Researchers have found that, in terms of environmental services, it is better to avoid deforestation than to allow for deforestation to subsequently reforest, as the latter leads to irreversible effects in terms of biodiversity loss and soil degradation. Furthermore, the probability that legacy carbon will be released from soil is higher in younger boreal forest. Global greenhouse gas emissions caused by damage to tropical rainforests may have been substantially underestimated until around 2019. Additionally, the effects of afforestation and reforestation will be farther in the future than keeping existing forests intact. It takes much longer − several decades − for the benefits for global warming to manifest to the same carbon sequestration benefits from mature trees in tropical forests and hence from limiting deforestation. Therefore, scientists consider "the protection and recovery of carbon-rich and long-lived ecosystems, especially natural forests" to be "the major climate solution".

    The planting of trees on marginal crop and pasture lands helps to incorporate carbon from atmospheric CO
    2 into biomass. For this carbon sequestration process to succeed the carbon must not return to the atmosphere from biomass burning or rotting when the trees die. To this end, land allotted to the trees must not be converted to other uses. Alternatively, the wood from them must itself be sequestered, e.g., via biochar, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, landfill or stored by use in construction.

    Earth offers enough room to plant an additional 0.9 billion ha of tree canopy cover, although this estimate has been criticized, and the true area that has a net cooling effect on the climate when accounting for biophysical feedbacks like albedo is 20-80% lower. Planting and protecting these trees would sequester 205 billion tons of carbon if the trees survive future climate stress to reach maturity. To put this number into perspective, this is about 20 years of current global carbon emissions (as of 2019) . This level of sequestration would represent about 25% of the atmosphere's carbon pool in 2019.

    Life expectancy of forests varies throughout the world, influenced by tree species, site conditions, and natural disturbance patterns. In some forests, carbon may be stored for centuries, while in other forests, carbon is released with frequent stand replacing fires. Forests that are harvested prior to stand replacing events allow for the retention of carbon in manufactured forest products such as lumber. However, only a portion of the carbon removed from logged forests ends up as durable goods and buildings. The remainder ends up as sawmill by-products such as pulp, paper, and pallets. If all new construction globally utilized 90% wood products, largely via adoption of mass timber in low rise construction, this could sequester 700 million net tons of carbon per year. This is in addition to the elimination of carbon emissions from the displaced construction material such as steel or concrete, which are carbon-intense to produce.

    A meta-analysis found that mixed species plantations would increase carbon storage alongside other benefits of diversifying planted forests.

    Although a bamboo forest stores less total carbon than a mature forest of trees, a bamboo plantation sequesters carbon at a much faster rate than a mature forest or a tree plantation. Therefore, the farming of bamboo timber may have significant carbon sequestration potential.

    The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that: "The total carbon stock in forests decreased from 668 gigatonnes in 1990 to 662 gigatonnes in 2020". In Canada's boreal forests as much as 80% of the total carbon is stored in the soils as dead organic matter.

    The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report says: "Secondary forest regrowth and restoration of degraded forests and non-forest ecosystems can play a large role in carbon sequestration (high confidence) with high resilience to disturbances and additional benefits such as enhanced biodiversity."

    Impacts on temperature are affected by the location of the forest. For example, reforestation in boreal or subarctic regions has less impact on climate. This is because it substitutes a high-albedo, snow-dominated region with a lower-albedo forest canopy. By contrast, tropical reforestation projects lead to a positive change such as the formation of clouds. These clouds then reflect the sunlight, lowering temperatures.

    Planting trees in tropical climates with wet seasons has another advantage. In such a setting, trees grow more quickly (fixing more carbon) because they can grow year-round. Trees in tropical climates have, on average, larger, brighter, and more abundant leaves than non-tropical climates. A study of the girth of 70,000 trees across Africa has shown that tropical forests fix more carbon dioxide pollution than previously realized. The research suggested almost one-fifth of fossil fuel emissions are absorbed by forests across Africa, Amazonia and Asia. Simon Lewis stated, "Tropical forest trees are absorbing about 18% of the carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere each year from burning fossil fuels, substantially buffering the rate of change."

    On the environment

    According to a 2020 study, if deforestation continues at current rates it can trigger a total or almost total extinction of humanity in the next 20 to 40 years. They conclude that "from a statistical point of view... the probability that our civilisation survives itself is less than 10% in the most optimistic scenario." To avoid this collapse, humanity should pass from a civilization dominated by the economy to "cultural society" that "privileges the interest of the ecosystem above the individual interest of its components, but eventually in accordance with the overall communal interest."

    Changes to the water cycle

    The water cycle is also affected by deforestation. Trees extract groundwater through their roots and release it into the atmosphere. When part of a forest is removed, the trees no longer transpire this water, resulting in a much drier climate. Deforestation reduces the content of water in the soil and groundwater as well as atmospheric moisture. The dry soil leads to lower water intake for the trees to extract. Deforestation reduces soil cohesion, so that erosion, flooding and landslides ensue.

    Shrinking forest cover lessens the landscape's capacity to intercept, retain and transpire precipitation. Instead of trapping precipitation, which then percolates to groundwater systems, deforested areas become sources of surface water runoff, which moves much faster than subsurface flows. Forests return most of the water that falls as precipitation to the atmosphere by transpiration. In contrast, when an area is deforested, almost all precipitation is lost as run-off. That quicker transport of surface water can translate into flash flooding and more localized floods than would occur with the forest cover. Deforestation also contributes to decreased evapotranspiration, which lessens atmospheric moisture which in some cases affects precipitation levels downwind from the deforested area, as water is not recycled to downwind forests, but is lost in runoff and returns directly to the oceans. According to one study, in deforested north and northwest China, the average annual precipitation decreased by one third between the 1950s and the 1980s.

    Deforestation of the Highland Plateau in Madagascar has led to extensive siltation and unstable flows of western rivers.

    Trees, and plants in general, affect the water cycle significantly:

    • their canopies intercept a proportion of precipitation, which is then evaporated back to the atmosphere (canopy interception);
    • their litter, stems and trunks slow down surface runoff;
    • their roots create macropores – large conduits – in the soil that increase infiltration of water;
    • they contribute to terrestrial evaporation and reduce soil moisture via transpiration;
    • their litter and other organic residue change soil properties that affect the capacity of soil to store water.
    • their leaves control the humidity of the atmosphere by transpiring. 99% of the water absorbed by the roots moves up to the leaves and is transpired.

    As a result, the presence or absence of trees can change the quantity of water on the surface, in the soil or groundwater, or in the atmosphere. This in turn changes erosion rates and the availability of water for either ecosystem functions or human services. Deforestation on lowland plains moves cloud formation and rainfall to higher elevations.

    The forest may have little impact on flooding in the case of large rainfall events, which overwhelm the storage capacity of forest soil if the soils are at or close to saturation.

    Tropical rainforests produce about 30% of Earth's fresh water.

    Deforestation disrupts normal weather patterns creating hotter and drier weather thus increasing drought, desertification, crop failures, melting of the polar ice caps, coastal flooding and displacement of major vegetation regimes.

    Soil erosion

    Deforestation in France.

    Due to surface plant litter, forests that are undisturbed have a minimal rate of erosion. The rate of erosion occurs from deforestation, because it decreases the amount of litter cover, which provides protection from surface runoff. The rate of erosion is around 2 metric tons per square kilometre. This can be an advantage in excessively leached tropical rain forest soils. Forestry operations themselves also increase erosion through the development of (forest) roads and the use of mechanized equipment.

    Deforestation in China's Loess Plateau many years ago has led to soil erosion; this erosion has led to valleys opening up. The increase of soil in the runoff causes the Yellow River to flood and makes it yellow-colored.

    Greater erosion is not always a consequence of deforestation, as observed in the southwestern regions of the US. In these areas, the loss of grass due to the presence of trees and other shrubbery leads to more erosion than when trees are removed.

    Soils are reinforced by the presence of trees, which secure the soil by binding their roots to soil bedrock. Due to deforestation, the removal of trees causes sloped lands to be more susceptible to landslides.

    Other changes to the soil

    Clearing forests changes the environment of the microbial communities within the soil, and causes a loss of biodiversity in regards to the microbes since biodiversity is actually highly dependent on soil texture. Although the effect of deforestation has much more profound consequences on sandier soils compared to clay-like soils, the disruptions caused by deforestation ultimately reduces properties of soil such as hydraulic conductivity and water storage, thus reducing the efficiency of water and heat absorption. In a simulation of the deforestation process in the Amazon, researchers found that surface and soil temperatures increased by 1 to 3 degrees Celsius demonstrating the loss of the soil's ability to absorb radiation and moisture. Furthermore, soils that are rich in organic decay matter are more susceptible to fire, especially during long droughts.

    Changes in soil properties could turn the soil itself into a carbon source rather than a carbon sink.

    Biodiversity loss

    Further information: Biodiversity loss

    Deforestation on a human scale results in decline in biodiversity, and on a natural global scale is known to cause the extinction of many species. The removal or destruction of areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. Forests support biodiversity, providing habitat for wildlife; moreover, forests foster medicinal conservation. With forest biotopes being irreplaceable source of new drugs (such as taxol), deforestation can destroy genetic variations (such as crop resistance) irretrievably.

    Illegal logging in Madagascar. In 2009, the vast majority of the illegally obtained rosewood was exported to China.

    Since the tropical rainforests are the most diverse ecosystems on Earth and about 80% of the world's known biodiversity can be found in tropical rainforests, removal or destruction of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiversity. Road construction and development of adjacent land, which greatly reduces the area of intact wilderness and causes soil erosion, is a major contributing factor to the loss of biodiversity in tropical regions. A study in Rondônia, Brazil, has shown that deforestation also removes the microbial community which is involved in the recycling of nutrients, the production of clean water and the removal of pollutants.

    It has been estimated that 137 plant, animal and insect species go extinct every day due to rainforest deforestation, which equates to 50,000 species a year. Others state that tropical rainforest deforestation is contributing to the ongoing Holocene mass extinction. The known extinction rates from deforestation rates are very low, approximately one species per year from mammals and birds, which extrapolates to approximately 23,000 species per year for all species. Predictions have been made that more than 40% of the animal and plant species in Southeast Asia could be wiped out in the 21st century. Such predictions were called into question by 1995 data that show that within regions of Southeast Asia much of the original forest has been converted to monospecific plantations, but that potentially endangered species are few and tree flora remains widespread and stable.

    Location of tropical (dark green) and temperate/subtropical (light green) rainforests in the world

    Scientific understanding of the process of extinction is insufficient to accurately make predictions about the impact of deforestation on biodiversity. Most predictions of forestry related biodiversity loss are based on species-area models, with an underlying assumption that as the forest declines species diversity will decline similarly. However, many such models have been proven to be wrong and loss of habitat does not necessarily lead to large scale loss of species. Species-area models are known to overpredict the number of species known to be threatened in areas where actual deforestation is ongoing, and greatly overpredict the number of threatened species that are widespread.

    In 2012, a study of the Brazilian Amazon predicts that despite a lack of extinctions thus far, up to 90 percent of predicted extinctions will finally occur in the next 40 years.

    Oxygen-supply misconception

    Rainforests are widely believed by lay persons to contribute a significant amount of the world's oxygen, although it is now accepted by scientists that rainforests contribute little net oxygen to the atmosphere and deforestation has only a minor effect on atmospheric oxygen levels. In fact about 50 percent of oxygen on Earth is produced by algae.

    On human health

    Deforestation reduces safe working hours for millions of people in the tropics, especially for those performing heavy labour outdoors. Continued global heating and forest loss is expected to amplify these impacts, reducing work hours for vulnerable groups even more. A study conducted from 2002 to 2018 also determined that the increase in temperature as a result of climate change, and the lack of shade due to deforestation, has increased the mortality rate of workers in Indonesia.

    Infectious diseases

    Deforestation eliminates a great number of species of plants and animals which also often results in exposure of people to zoonotic diseases. Forest-associated diseases include malaria, Chagas disease (also known as American trypanosomiasis), African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), leishmaniasis, Lyme disease, HIV and Ebola. The majority of new infectious diseases affecting humans, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, are zoonotic and their emergence may be linked to habitat loss due to forest area change and the expansion of human populations into forest areas, which both increase human exposure to wildlife.

    Deforestation has been coupled with an increase in the occurrence of disease outbreaks. In Malaysia, thousands of acres of forest have been cleared for pig farms. This has resulted in an increase in the spread of the Nipah virus. In Kenya, deforestation has led to an increase in malaria cases which is now the leading cause of morbidity and mortality the country. A 2017 study found that deforestation substantially increased the incidence of malaria in Nigeria.

    Another pathway through which deforestation affects disease is the relocation and dispersion of disease-carrying hosts. This disease emergence pathway can be called "range expansion", whereby the host's range (and thereby the range of pathogens) expands to new geographic areas. Through deforestation, hosts and reservoir species are forced into neighboring habitats. Accompanying the reservoir species are pathogens that have the ability to find new hosts in previously unexposed regions. As these pathogens and species come into closer contact with humans, they are infected both directly and indirectly. Another example of range expansion due to deforestation and other anthropogenic habitat impacts includes the Capybara rodent in Paraguay.

    According to the World Economic Forum, 31% of emerging diseases are linked to deforestation. A publication by the United Nations Environment Programme in 2016 found that deforestation, climate change, and livestock agriculture are among the main causes that increase the risk of zoonotic diseases, that is diseases that pass from animals to humans.

    COVID-19 pandemic
    See also: COVID-19 pandemic and Pandemic prevention § Environmental policy and economics

    Scientists have linked the Coronavirus pandemic to the destruction of nature, especially to deforestation, habitat loss in general and wildlife trade. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) the Coronavirus disease 2019 is zoonotic, e.g., the virus passed from animals to humans. UNEP concludes that: "The most fundamental way to protect ourselves from zoonotic diseases is to prevent destruction of nature. Where ecosystems are healthy and biodiverse, they are resilient, adaptable and help to regulate diseases.

    On the economy and agriculture

    A satellite image showing deforestation for a palm oil plantation in Malaysia
    This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: cites are very old. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2020)

    Economic losses due to deforestation in Brazil could reach around 317 billion dollars per year, approximately 7 times higher in comparison to the cost of all commodities produced through deforestation.

    The forest products industry is a large part of the economy in both developed and developing countries. Short-term economic gains made by conversion of forest to agriculture, or over-exploitation of wood products, typically leads to a loss of long-term income and long-term biological productivity. West Africa, Madagascar, Southeast Asia and many other regions have experienced lower revenue because of declining timber harvests. Illegal logging causes billions of dollars of losses to national economies annually.

    The resilience of human food systems and their capacity to adapt to future change is linked to biodiversity – including dryland-adapted shrub and tree species that help combat desertification, forest-dwelling insects, bats and bird species that pollinate crops, trees with extensive root systems in mountain ecosystems that prevent soil erosion, and mangrove species that provide resilience against flooding in coastal areas. With climate change exacerbating the risks to food systems, the role of forests in capturing and storing carbon and mitigating climate change is important for the agricultural sector.

    Satellite image of Haiti's border with the Dominican Republic (right) shows the amount of deforestation on the Haitian side
    Deforestation around Pakke Tiger Reserve, India

    Monitoring

    Agents from IBAMA, Brazil's environmental police, searching for illegal logging activity in Indigenous territory in the Amazon rainforest, 2018

    There are multiple methods that are appropriate and reliable for reducing and monitoring deforestation. One method is the "visual interpretation of aerial photos or satellite imagery that is labor-intensive but does not require high-level training in computer image processing or extensive computational resources". Another method includes hot-spot analysis (that is, locations of rapid change) using expert opinion or coarse resolution satellite data to identify locations for detailed digital analysis with high resolution satellite images. Deforestation is typically assessed by quantifying the amount of area deforested, measured at the present time. From an environmental point of view, quantifying the damage and its possible consequences is a more important task, while conservation efforts are more focused on forested land protection and development of land-use alternatives to avoid continued deforestation. Deforestation rate and total area deforested have been widely used for monitoring deforestation in many regions, including the Brazilian Amazon deforestation monitoring by INPE. A global satellite view is available, an example of land change science monitoring of land cover over time.

    Satellite imaging has become crucial in obtaining data on levels of deforestation and reforestation. Landsat satellite data, for example, has been used to map tropical deforestation as part of NASA's Landsat Pathfinder Humid Tropical Deforestation Project. The project yielded deforestation maps for the Amazon Basin, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia for three periods in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

    Greenpeace has mapped out the forests that are still intact and published this information on the internet. World Resources Institute in turn has made a simpler thematic map showing the amount of forests present just before the age of man (8000 years ago) and the current (reduced) levels of forest.

    Control

    International, national and subnational policies

    An incomplete concept of a framework of policy mix sequencing for zero-deforestation governance. Non-intervention in processes related to beef production via policies may be a main driver of tropical deforestation.
    Further information: Sustainable development and Universal basic income in Brazil

    Policies for forest protection include information and education programs, economic measures to increase revenue returns from authorized activities and measures to increase effectiveness of "forest technicians and forest managers". Poverty and agricultural rent were found to be principal factors leading to deforestation. Contemporary domestic and foreign political decision-makers could possibly create and implement policies whose outcomes ensure that economic activities in critical forests are consistent with their scientifically ascribed value for ecosystem services, climate change mitigation and other purposes.

    Such policies may use and organize the development of complementary technical and economic means – including for lower levels of beef production, sales and consumption (which would also have major benefits for climate change mitigation), higher levels of specified other economic activities in such areas (such as reforestation, forest protection, sustainable agriculture for specific classes of food products and quaternary work in general), product information requirements, practice- and product-certifications and eco-tariffs, along with the required monitoring and traceability. Inducing the creation and enforcement of such policies could, for instance, achieve a global phase-out of deforestation-associated beef. With complex polycentric governance measures, goals like sufficient climate change mitigation as decided with e.g. the Paris Agreement and a stoppage of deforestation by 2030 as decided at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference could be achieved. A study has suggested higher income nations need to reduce imports of tropical forest-related products and help with theoretically forest-related socioeconomic development. Proactive government policies and international forest policies "revisit and redesign global forest trade" are needed as well.

    In 2022 the European parliament approved a bill aiming to stop the import linked with deforestation. This EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products (EUDR), may cause to Brazil, for example, to stop deforestation for agricultural production and begun to "increase productivity on existing agricultural land". The legislation was adopted with some changes by the European Council in May 2023 and is expected to enter into force several weeks after. The bill requires companies who want to import certain types of products to the European Union to prove the production of those commodities is not linked to areas deforested after 31 of December 2020. It prohibits also import of products linked with Human rights abuse. The list of products includes: palm oil, cattle, wood, coffee, cocoa, rubber and soy. Some derivatives of those products are also included: chocolate, furniture, printed paper and several palm oil based derivates.

    But unfortunately, as the report Bankrolling ecosystem destruction shows, this regulation of product imports is not enough. The European financial sector is investing billions of euros in the destruction of nature. Banks do not respond positively to requests to stop this, which is why the report calls for European regulation in this area to be tightened and for banks to be banned from continuing to finance deforestation.

    International pledges

    In 2014, about 40 countries signed the New York Declaration on Forests, a voluntary pledge to halve deforestation by 2020 and end it by 2030. The agreement was not legally binding, however, and some key countries, such as Brazil, China, and Russia, did not sign onto it. As a result, the effort failed, and deforestation increased from 2014 to 2020.

    In November 2021, 141 countries (with around 85% of the world's primary tropical forests and 90% of global tree cover) agreed at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow to the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use, a pledge to end and reverse deforestation by 2030. The agreement was accompanied by about $19.2 billion in associated funding commitments.

    The 2021 Glasgow agreement improved on the New York Declaration by now including Brazil and many other countries that did not sign the 2014 agreement. Some key nations with high rates of deforestation (including Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Paraguay, and Myanmar) have not signed the Glasgow Declaration. Like the earlier agreement, the Glasgow Leaders' Declaration was entered into outside the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and is thus not legally binding.

    In November 2021, the EU executive outlined a draft law requiring companies to prove that the agricultural commodities beef, wood, palm oil, soy, coffee and cocoa destined for the EU's 450 million consumers were not linked to deforestation. In September 2022, the EU Parliament supported and strengthened the plan from the EU's executive with 453 votes to 57.

    In 2018 the biggest palm oil trader, Wilmar, decided to control its suppliers to avoid deforestation

    In 2021, over 100 world leaders, representing countries containing more than 85% of the world's forests, committed to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030.

    Land rights

    Transferring land rights to indigenous inhabitants is argued to efficiently conserve forests.

    Indigenous communities have long been the frontline of resistance against deforestation. Transferring rights over land from public domain to its indigenous inhabitants is argued to be a cost-effective strategy to conserve forests. This includes the protection of such rights entitled in existing laws, such as India's Forest Rights Act. The transferring of such rights in China, perhaps the largest land reform in modern times, has been argued to have increased forest cover. In Brazil, forested areas given tenure to indigenous groups have even lower rates of clearing than national parks.

    Community concessions in the Congolian rainforests have significantly less deforestation as communities are incentivized to manage the land sustainably, even reducing poverty.

    Forest management

    Further information: Forest management

    In areas where "slash-and-burn" is practiced, switching to "slash-and-char" would prevent the rapid deforestation and subsequent degradation of soils. The biochar thus created, given back to the soil, is not only a durable carbon sequestration method, but it also is an extremely beneficial amendment to the soil. Mixed with biomass it brings the creation of terra preta, one of the richest soils on the planet and the only one known to regenerate itself.

    Bamboo is advocated as a more sustainable alternative for cutting down wood for fuel.

    Certification, as provided by global certification systems such as Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification and Forest Stewardship Council, contributes to tackling deforestation by creating market demand for timber from sustainably managed forests. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), "A major condition for the adoption of sustainable forest management is a demand for products that are produced sustainably and consumer willingness to pay for the higher costs entailed. By promoting the positive attributes of forest products from sustainably managed forests, certification focuses on the demand side of environmental conservation."

    Financial compensations for reducing emissions from deforestation

    Main article: Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation

    Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries has emerged as a new potential to complement ongoing climate policies. The idea consists in providing financial compensations for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from deforestation and forest degradation". REDD can be seen as an alternative to the emissions trading system as in the latter, polluters must pay for permits for the right to emit certain pollutants (i.e. CO2).

    Main international organizations including the United Nations and the World Bank, have begun to develop programs aimed at curbing deforestation. The blanket term Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) describes these sorts of programs, which use direct monetary or other incentives to encourage developing countries to limit and/or roll back deforestation. Funding has been an issue, but at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties-15 (COP-15) in Copenhagen in December 2009, an accord was reached with a collective commitment by developed countries for new and additional resources, including forestry and investments through international institutions, that will approach US$30 billion for the period 2010–2012.

    Significant work is underway on tools for use in monitoring developing countries' adherence to their agreed REDD targets. These tools, which rely on remote forest monitoring using satellite imagery and other data sources, include the Center for Global Development's FORMA (Forest Monitoring for Action) initiative and the Group on Earth Observations' Forest Carbon Tracking Portal. Methodological guidance for forest monitoring was also emphasized at COP-15. The environmental organization Avoided Deforestation Partners leads the campaign for development of REDD through funding from the U.S. government.

    History

    Further information: Timeline of environmental history

    Prehistory

    The Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse was an event that occurred 300 million years ago. Climate change devastated tropical rainforests causing the extinction of many plant and animal species. The change was abrupt, specifically, at this time climate became cooler and drier, conditions that are not favorable to the growth of rainforests and much of the biodiversity within them. Rainforests were fragmented forming shrinking 'islands' further and further apart. Populations such as the sub class Lissamphibia were devastated, whereas Reptilia survived the collapse. The surviving organisms were better adapted to the drier environment left behind and served as legacies in succession after the collapse.

    An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, ax heads, chisels, and polishing tools.

    Rainforests once covered 14% of the earth's land surface; now they cover a mere 6% and experts estimate that the last remaining rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years. Small scale deforestation was practiced by some societies for tens of thousands of years before the beginnings of civilization. The first evidence of deforestation appears in the Mesolithic period. It was probably used to convert closed forests into more open ecosystems favourable to game animals. With the advent of agriculture, larger areas began to be deforested, and fire became the prime tool to clear land for crops. In Europe there is little solid evidence before 7000 BC. Mesolithic foragers used fire to create openings for red deer and wild boar. In Great Britain, shade-tolerant species such as oak and ash are replaced in the pollen record by hazels, brambles, grasses and nettles. Removal of the forests led to decreased transpiration, resulting in the formation of upland peat bogs. Widespread decrease in elm pollen across Europe between 8400 and 8300 BC and 7200–7000 BC, starting in southern Europe and gradually moving north to Great Britain, may represent land clearing by fire at the onset of Neolithic agriculture.

    The Neolithic period saw extensive deforestation for farming land. Stone axes were being made from about 3000 BC not just from flint, but from a wide variety of hard rocks from across Britain and North America as well. They include the noted Langdale axe industry in the English Lake District, quarries developed at Penmaenmawr in North Wales and numerous other locations. Rough-outs were made locally near the quarries, and some were polished locally to give a fine finish. This step not only increased the mechanical strength of the axe, but also made penetration of wood easier. Flint was still used from sources such as Grimes Graves but from many other mines across Europe.

    Evidence of deforestation has been found in Minoan Crete; for example the environs of the Palace of Knossos were severely deforested in the Bronze Age.

    Pre-industrial history

    See also: Deforestation during the Roman period and Deforestation by continent
    Easter Island, deforested.

    Just as archaeologists have shown that prehistoric farming societies had to cut or burn forests before planting, documents and artifacts from early civilizations often reveal histories of deforestation. Some of the most dramatic are eighth century BCE Assyrian reliefs depicting logs being floated downstream from conquered areas to the less forested capital region as spoils of war. Ancient Chinese texts make clear that some areas of the Yellow River valley had already destroyed many of their forests over 2000 years ago and had to plant trees as crops or import them from long distances. In South China much of the land came to be privately owned and used for the commercial growing of timber.

    Three regional studies of historic erosion and alluviation in ancient Greece found that, wherever adequate evidence exists, a major phase of erosion follows the introduction of farming in the various regions of Greece by about 500–1,000 years, ranging from the later Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. The thousand years following the mid-first millennium BC saw serious, intermittent pulses of soil erosion in numerous places. The historic silting of ports along the southern coasts of Asia Minor (e.g. Clarus, and the examples of Ephesus, Priene and Miletus, where harbors had to be abandoned because of the silt deposited by the Meander) and in coastal Syria during the last centuries BC.

    Easter Island has suffered from heavy soil erosion in recent centuries, aggravated by agriculture and deforestation. The disappearance of the island's trees seems to coincide with a decline of its civilization around the 17th and 18th century. Scholars have attributed the collapse to deforestation and over-exploitation of all resources.

    The famous silting up of the harbor for Bruges, which moved port commerce to Antwerp, also followed a period of increased settlement growth (and apparently of deforestation) in the upper river basins. In early medieval Riez in upper Provence, alluvial silt from two small rivers raised the riverbeds and widened the floodplain, which slowly buried the Roman settlement in alluvium and gradually moved new construction to higher ground; concurrently the headwater valleys above Riez were being opened to pasturage.

    A typical progress trap was that cities were often built in a forested area, which would provide wood for some industry (for example, construction, shipbuilding, pottery). When deforestation occurs without proper replanting, however; local wood supplies become difficult to obtain near enough to remain competitive, leading to the city's abandonment, as happened repeatedly in Ancient Asia Minor. Because of fuel needs, mining and metallurgy often led to deforestation and city abandonment.

    Deforestation of Brazil's Atlantic Forest c. 1820–1825

    With most of the population remaining active in (or indirectly dependent on) the agricultural sector, the main pressure in most areas remained land clearing for crop and cattle farming. Enough wild green was usually left standing (and partially used, for example, to collect firewood, timber and fruits, or to graze pigs) for wildlife to remain viable. The elite's (nobility and higher clergy) protection of their own hunting privileges and game often protected significant woodland.

    Major parts in the spread (and thus more durable growth) of the population were played by monastical 'pioneering' (especially by the Benedictine and Commercial orders) and some feudal lords' recruiting farmers to settle (and become tax payers) by offering relatively good legal and fiscal conditions. Even when speculators sought to encourage towns, settlers needed an agricultural belt around or sometimes within defensive walls. When populations were quickly decreased by causes such as the Black Death, the colonization of the Americas, or devastating warfare (for example, Genghis Khan's Mongol hordes in eastern and central Europe, Thirty Years' War in Germany), this could lead to settlements being abandoned. The land was reclaimed by nature, but the secondary forests usually lacked the original biodiversity. The Mongol invasions and conquests alone resulted in the reduction of 700 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere by enabling the re-growth of carbon-absorbing forests on depopulated lands over a significant period of time.

    Deforestation in Suriname c. 1880–1900

    From 1100 to 1500 AD, significant deforestation took place in Western Europe as a result of the expanding human population. The large-scale building of wooden sailing ships by European (coastal) naval owners since the 15th century for exploration, colonisation, slave trade, and other trade on the high seas, consumed many forest resources and became responsible for the introduction of numerous bubonic plague outbreaks in the 14th century. Piracy also contributed to the over harvesting of forests, as in Spain. This led to a weakening of the domestic economy after Columbus' discovery of America, as the economy became dependent on colonial activities (plundering, mining, cattle, plantations, trade, etc.)

    The massive use of charcoal on an industrial scale in Early Modern Europe was a new type of consumption of western forests. Each of Nelson's Royal Navy war ships at Trafalgar (1805) required 6,000 mature oaks for its construction. In France, Colbert planted oak forests to supply the French navy in the future. When the oak plantations matured in the mid-19th century, the masts were no longer required because shipping had changed.

    Efforts to stop or slow deforestation have been attempted for many centuries because it has long been known that deforestation can cause environmental damage sufficient in some cases to cause societies to collapse. In Tonga, paramount rulers developed policies designed to prevent conflicts between short-term gains from converting forest to farmland and long-term problems forest loss would cause, while during the 17th and 18th centuries in Tokugawa, Japan, the shōguns developed a highly sophisticated system of long-term planning to stop and even reverse deforestation of the preceding centuries through substituting timber by other products and more efficient use of land that had been farmed for many centuries.

    In 16th-century Germany, landowners also developed silviculture to deal with the problem of deforestation. However, these policies tend to be limited to environments with good rainfall, no dry season and very young soils (through volcanism or glaciation). This is because on older and less fertile soils trees grow too slowly for silviculture to be economic, whilst in areas with a strong dry season there is always a risk of forest fires destroying a tree crop before it matures.

    19th and 20th centuries

    Deforestation in Burma (now Myanmar) circa 1920, during the British colonial era
    See also: Deforestation by continent

    Steamboats

    In the 19th century, the introduction of steamboats in the United States was the cause of deforestation of banks of major rivers, such as the Mississippi River, with increased and more severe flooding one of the environmental results. The steamboat crews cut wood daily from the riverbanks to fuel the steam engines. Between St. Louis and the confluence with the Ohio River to the south, the Mississippi became broader and shallower and changed its channel laterally. Attempts to improve navigation by the use of snag pullers often resulted in crews' clearing large trees 100 to 200 feet (61 m) back from the banks. Several French colonial towns of the Illinois Country, such as Kaskaskia, Cahokia and St. Philippe, Illinois, were flooded and abandoned in the late 19th century, with a loss to the cultural record of their archeology.

    Society and culture

    Different cultures of different places in the world have different interpretations of the actions of the cutting down of trees. For example, in Meitei mythology and Meitei folklore of Manipur (India), deforestation is mentioned as one of the reasons to make mother nature weep and mourn for the death of her precious children.

    See also

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    Sources

     This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 (license statement/permission). Text taken from Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 Key findings​, FAO, FAO.

     This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (license statement/permission). Text taken from The State of the World’s Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people – In brief​, FAO & UNEP, FAO & UNEP.

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