Question

What are the causes and effects of deforestation?

Answer 1

Answer: When the forest is cleared and the land is used for any other purposes, it is called deforestation. There are several causes and effects of deforestation.

Causes of deforestation:

1. Industrialization: Fast pace of industrialization severally affected the green cover of the planet in the past two centuries and is still affecting it in the developing nations. Forest was cleared for not only to establish industries, but also for the raw materials for the industries. Industrialization is one the major reasons for deforestation.
2. Population Bloom: After industrialization, human population increases in leap and bounds. Modern medicine also helped to increase life expectancy. More people on the planet earth needed more places to settle, they needed more food, more clothes and in fact more luxurious items. Forest was cleared for agriculture. Population directly or indirectly caused severe deforestation.
3. Mining: Our planet earth has a rich stock of minerals. But this valuable resource that boosted human growth caused significant damage to the forest cover. Mining affects the condition of the soil and makes it unsuitable for any vegetation growth. Hectares of forest coverage are lost due to deforestation.
4. Naturals calamities: Natural disasters such as wildfire, hurricane, floods, etc. also damages the forest coverage to a large extent.

Effects of Deforestation:

1. Loss of Wildlife: Deforestation severely damages the wildlifes present in the region. Wildlifes are very important to maintain the natural cycles in the environment. Many varieties of flora and fauna became extinct in the process and many of them are endangered. Deforestation increases the pace of extinction.
2. Global Warming: Green house gases are very important to keep our planet warm. Thess gases trap the sun's energy and keep the earth warm. But extra level of greenhouse gases can damage the planet. Global warming increases the speed by which glaciers melt. Due to this, the level of the ocean surface is increasing. Many island nations are facing great danger due to global warming. Forest is the lung of the planet. It consumes carbon dioxide and release oxygen in the photo-synthesis. This keeps check on the level of CO2 in the atmosphere. This keeps a check on global warming.
3. Soil erosion: Forest holds the upper level of the soil, which is suitable for growth. It protects the soil from the agents of erosion. But due to deforestation, soil has lost its guard, leading to desertification and unsuitable for agriculture.