EFFECTS OF DEFORESTATION

 Deforestation has a lot of consequences for the natural ecosystems and it poses serious problems to the resilience of the planet. 

Following are the effects of deforestation which are to be better understood and taken into consideration:

1. EFFECT ON THE BIODIVERSITY

The most common consequence of deforestation is the threat it causes on the biodiversity. Forests actually represent some most of the important elements of the Biodiversity. Forests are home to a wide range of rare and fragile species including amphibians, mammals, birds and plants. Human activities lead to deforestation and thus creates a huge imbalance in the nature. The natural world is complex, interconnected and made of thousands of interdependencies among the plants, animals, vegetation, birds, etc... 

2. EFFECT ON LOCAL PEOPLE AND THEIR LIVELIHOODS

Healthy forests support the livelihoods of 1.6billion people around the world, amongst whom 1 billion belong to the poorest. Many people depend upon the forests and its products and earn their livelihood from these forests. They hunt, gather raw material, small scale agriculture etc... 

3. SOIL EROSION

Deforestation weakens or degrades the quality of soil. Forest soils are not only rich in organic matter but also are more resistant to erosion, bad weather and extreme weather events. This happens mainly because roots help fix the trees in the ground and the sun-blocking tree cover helps the soil to slowly dry out. As a result, deforestation will lead the soil to be more fragile and leave those areas prone to natural disasters like landslides and floods.

4. CONTRIBUTES TO CLIMATE CHANGE

Trees absorb a huge amount of carbon dioxide, and deforestation means release of all those tons of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere. Fewer trees available means the planet's overall ability to capture the carbon dioxide is reduced to a great extent. Both these effects lead to greenhouse effect and in turn global warming. Deforestation is responsible for 15% of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions. According to recent statistics, around 6 million hectares of land were lost from deforestation mainly in the tropical domain. 

The Amazon Rainforest is one og the world's largest forest hotspot and is a home to millions of plant and animal species, exhibiting tremendous biodiversity. Its ability to store carbon dioxide and produce oxygen makes it the "Lungs of the Planet."

Since 1960's the Amazon forest has nearly lost 760000sq.km. of its area and is under a huge threat. Around the 1980-1990s, construction was immensely carried out in near those areas lead to deforestation. Recent reports show that more and more deforestation now is caused by farming which includes soya production, development of intensive livestock production etc...