Introduction
Deforestation involves the permanent removal of trees for several reasons and significantly affects the environment. It entails destroying, clearing, or removing trees through natural, deliberate, or accidental means. Nearly 80% of deforestation is caused by farming and logging for development and raw materials (Wolff et al., 2018). The permanent loss of vegetation and trees causes desertification, climate change, flooding, soil erosion, and many other problems to local populations.
Environmental Effects of Deforestation
One of the most devastating and dangerous effects of deforestation on the environment is the loss of plant and animal species because of their natural habitat. Over 70% of plants and animal species, known and unknown, live in forests and are threatened with extinction by deforestation (Wolff et al., 2018). Trees found in forests provide shelter to different species and canopy, which helps regulate the atmosphere’s temperature. Deforestation causes the temperature in such forests to vary drastically from night to day and could prove fatal to many plant and animal species in such habitats. Moreover, the loss of habitat and the lack of trees create a perfect condition for greenhouse gases to be emitted into the atmosphere (Wolff et al., 2018). Forests are essential because they absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and reduce the effects of greenhouse gases. Deforested areas cannot release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Trees in the forest also help control water levels in the atmosphere by regulating the water cycle. In areas where trees have been removed or cleared, there are low water levels in the atmosphere to go back into the soil. Consequently, the soil becomes drier and is unable to grow crops. It is the leading cause of desertification which makes arable land unproductive. Therefore, deforested areas cannot support life due to a lack of water in the soil. Similarly, deforestation can also cause coastal flooding and soil erosion since trees help the land retain the topsoil and water, providing plants and animals with nutrients to sustain life. Soil is easily washed away or eroded, causing life to become unbearable. Due to the lack of topsoil, farmers leave the barren land caused by soil erosion because of its inability to support agricultural practices and consequently become susceptible to flooding (Arshad et al., 2020).
Due to clearing large tracts of land, deforestation exposes the earth to the elements, making it wither and die. In effect, many plant and animal species die, exposing the inhabitants living in these forests to imminent starvation because of the inability of the land to sustain life. The loss of trees directly and immediately affects the livelihood and lifestyle of the local population that people in industrialized areas cannot fathom (Arshard et al., 2020). The local population is largely dependent on rainforests for their sustenance. In areas where governments engage in the clearing of rainforests, large-scale evictions of the local population usually occur, which affects their lives and livelihoods.
Conclusion
Deforestation involves the clearing of forests due to various reasons and has adverse effects on the environment. Among the most notable effects of deforestation are greenhouse gas emissions, desertification, climate change, soil erosion, flooding, and other problems that affect the local population. Humanity needs to consider these effects before clearing or removing trees from forests because it can hurt our environment in a significant manner. The reasons for clearing forests do not supercede its benefits to both man and his environment.
References
Arshad, Z., Robaina, M., Shahbaz, M., & Veloso, A. B. (2020). The effects of deforestation and urbanization on sustainable growth in Asian countries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(9), 10065-10086.
Wolff, N. H., Masuda, Y. J., Meijaard, E., Wells, J. A., & Game, E. T. (2018). Impacts of tropical deforestation on local temperature and human well-being perceptions. Global Environmental Change, 52, 181-189.