Environmental Impact of Deforestation

In today’s world, the immense exploitation of our planet’s resources and the continued degradation of the environment have significantly risen at a concerning rate.

Environmentalists and scientists are presently raising their concern to inform the public on environmental matters such as water pollution, waste disposal, air pollution, global warming, and deforestation which severely affects the animals and the people. According to research, rainforests are home to thirty million species which incorporate about two-thirds of the world’s plant species, where insects’ alone make up the estimated majority of living creatures. Notably, according to national geographic, the Amazon rainforest generates an estimate of more than 20% of the world’s oxygen, and the rainforest receive one hundred and sixty inches of rainfall each year. Despite different environmental groups trying to educate individuals on how they can come together and help protect their environment still cases of deforestation are reported.

Today, deforestation has become a major concern as people continue to cut trees or burn trees for various purposes such as to make land available for building houses and urbanization, for cattle ranching, logging, building of dams, mining, for space to plant crops such as soy plantation that requires large-scale farming, for making ingredients such as oil from palm trees as well as timber that creates commercial items such as furniture’s and papers.

What people do not know is those trees produce oxygen and additional help in managing temperature and precipitation. According to the national geographic, deforestation cases have rapidly increased over the past few years’ in countries such as Thailand, Brazil, Congo and other parts of Europe as well as other parts of Africa and the current rate of deforestation would lead to the rest of the world’s rainforests gone in the next 100 years. The following paper analyzes the main environmental impacts of deforestation that include; firstly, disruption of the carbon cycles, secondly, the disruption of the hydrologic (water) cycle and finally, the reduction of species diversity.

Disruption of the carbon cycles

The major environmental impact of deforestation is the disruption of carbon cycles. Notably, deforestation has effects on greenhouse gas also referred to as the carbon cycle and global warming effects. Loss of forests or having fewer forests, results in more emissions of greenhouse gases released in the atmosphere. According to the national geographic machines such as trains, cars, ship, trucks are known to be the second contributor to climate change, but forest loss contributes 12-17% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions than all of them. Billions and billions of tons of carbon are stored in the rainforests around the world, and plenty of it is being released through deforestation. Trees in the forests play an important role in absorbing those gas emissions.

Similarly trees and forests balance the amount of carbon in the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis in which plants make their own food with carbon dioxide. Forests store carbon as plant matter and soil, and when deforestation occurs, it releases a large amount of the stored carbon to the atmosphere, similar to burning fossil fuels, and there is a lot of carbon stored in every acre. In fact, according to recent estimates, tropical deforestation contribute to an estimated fifteen percent reduction of the net global carbon-emissions, therefore, halting tropical forest deforestation would allow for regrowth which could mitigate further global carbon emissions. That is why rainforest trust’s commitment to protect habitat for endangered species also to protects the planet.

The disruption of the hydrologic (water) cycle

The second major impact of deforestation is the disruption of the hydrologic water cycle. It is important to note that vegetations are vital for the water cycle. Forests are to retain and transport significant amounts of water into the general atmosphere through transpiration. The evaporation of water from both the surfaces of oceans and the land as part of the hydrologic cycle results in the movement of water as air moist to the sky whereby it condenses into clouds. These clouds become saturated with condensed water which results in precipitation. Some of the water evaporates back to the atmosphere while the other penetrates the earth’s surface and remains as groundwater. In the long run, some of the groundwater may seep back to the streams, ocean, or lakes or released back into the atmosphere through transpiration. According to North Carolina University study, trees are essential for they hold more than half the water and they lessen the pollution in water. As a result of deforestation, trees no longer evaporate groundwater which causes precipitation rates to reduce, and land becomes dry, and this contributes to the inability to grow crops and a high case of drought and flooding in deforested areas.

The reduction of species diversity

The third major impact of deforestation is the reduction of species diversity. It is noted that 70% of animal species on land live in forests. Due to the cutting down of trees or deforestations, many species die losing their ecosystems and habitats. Over the years, the number of these species has significantly reduced due to high temperatures. A vast number of animals have been displaced because they cannot survive the deforestation that destroyed their homes (“Deforestation”, 2018). Besides, the trees that provide them with shelter and also essential in regulating the temperature, due to deforestation has allowed more drastic temperature variation from day to night which has proved to be fatal for current inhabitants. According to national geographic, deforestation has also had a negative consequence for medical researchers who rely on animals for medicine. Besides, people who live in the forest like the kamanja’s community who solely depend on the rainforest for the air we breathe and water we drink as well as hunt for food are also affected by this crisis. It advisable to counter for deforestation and people should plant more trees to help reduce or eradicate deforestation problem and this would also help rebuild wildlife habitats.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is important to note that deforestation has been a major challenge in various countries today. Notably, people should understand that its impact not only affects people but also plants and animals. Understanding these impacts which include disruption of the carbon cycles, disruption of the hydrologic (water) cycle, and reduction of species diversity aids in stopping it at an early stage. In my opinion, human beings need to help save the rainforest’s from deforestation and eliminate these cases from happening. When people come together this issue will at least be slowed down or stopped. Additionally, people need to plant lots of trees to replace those that have been cut or burned. By protecting deforestation more trees will be saved preventing carbon emissions and safeguarding the planet’s resilience to climate change.

References

Deforestation (2018). Retrieved https://thecarboncycledio.weebly.com/deforestation.html

Geographic, N. (2018). Retrieved  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation/