The Relationship Between Deforestation and Global Warming and how to Control Deforestation
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Deforestation is the cutting down of trees in the forests permanently without replacing them. In other words, deforestation can be defined as clearing forested land and converting it to a new use such as farming, setting up of ranches and creating homes for humans. Global warming, on the other hand, increases in the atmospheric temperature above the average in the climate system which results in climatic change. Human activities on the earth cause this climatic change, things like deforestation, greenhouse farming, burning of fossils and wood to produce fuel end up causing global warming. When substances are burnt to release fuel, gases are emitted which pollute the atmosphere. Carbon (iv) Oxide is one of the gases emitted from these fossils. Australia is among the world largest CO2 producers. Deforestation is among the causes of climate change, however, when there are fires in the forest, insect invasions that lead to trees dying, they are not regarded as deforestation because these areas will always grow back. When the area affected by forest fires is claimed by man for other activities, trees will not grow back thus this is then classified as deforestation.
Causes of deforestation
Overpopulation is one of the causes of deforestation where land is cleared so that people can settle. The world’s population increases yearly where the number of children born every year is higher than the death rates. The population is estimated to increase by 1.1% every year that is an approximate average of 82 million per year (Entwisle, B., Stern, P. C., National Research Council (U.S.)., & National Research Council (U.S.). 2005). To accommodate this population increase trees are cut down and land reclaimed for settlements. As population increases, there is the need to expand roads, railway lines and airports to facilitate a means of transport. To make sufficient infrastructure, forests are cleared down for road construction, railway lines expansion and airports and ports expansion.
Mining is another activity that creates the need for cutting down trees. Scientist research in the tropical forests for any available minerals underground, and when they discover they then clear the land to start mining the minerals underground. There is a rise in mineral prices thus when a mineral is discovered no one compromises the forests since there is a lot of money in selling minerals. After mining the lands are then followed by constructions such as houses, roads or reclaiming the land by creating electricity generation systems. Mining is a good activity only if the forests are spared and people research on bare land for minerals.
Paper industry is a threat to the forests since wood is used to make paper. The world’s top paper producers include countries like, China, Canada, America, and Japan which produces over 420 tons of paper every year. To produce 400 tons implies that approximates 600 million trees are converted into the paper which is a lot if reforestation (the process of cutting down old trees and replacing them by a new tree) is not done. The paper industry grows due to the increasing world’s population which means the demand for using paper increases.
Agricultural activities such as cattle keeping, farming, and poultry keeping is a significant cause of forest depreciation. The rise in population means an increase in food demands thus agricultural plantations and other human efforts have to be in place to facilitate this need. Agricultural plantations by humans are expanded by clearing forested land and reclaiming them for agricultural use. greenhouse farming is the current trend in many countries across the world, to set up this houses land has to be cleared and in a way, forests are cut down for this use. cattle ranching is very common in America especially in Latin America where cattle keeping is a major agricultural activity. The need to have large ranches and new ones makes the humans clear forests. Research shows that for the past thirty years’ forest ins Latin America have reduced by over 20 percent and regions that grow pasture and invest in cattle farming have grown through similar agricultural activities (Durham, W. H., & Painter, M. 1998). There has been an increase in cattle population which in return the dairy products and meat have increased as well as agricultural produce to sustain the human population have increased too.
Logging is another threat to the forests, where a large number of wood needs by the matchstick industries, furniture and manufacturing industries as a source of fuel. Timber has become expensive and many people risk the forest because of the income obtained by selling timber to the industries. Cooking in large institutions commonly use wood for fuel, where illegal cutting down of trees in the forest is done to obtain the wood. Logging facilitates clearing down trees to create roads in the forests for trucks to pass since tree cutting happens in the middle of the forests where quality trees are found (Entwisle, B., Stern, P. C., National Research Council (U.S.)., & National Research Council (U.S.). 2005). Through selective logging, large trees felled end up destroying small trees reducing the forest canopy. The trees cut are used for furniture making, paper production, and fuel production.
In the world toad, the above activities in the forests are done and fewer people bother replanting the trees back to maintain the forest canopy and tree population at large. This leads to a depreciation in the forests. Another cause of deforestation was based in the mid-20th century where forests were burnt down by warriors to scare away the enemy during wars. Also, people cleared the forests to set up hiding homes during a war to attack the enemy through guerrilla warfare. After wars, nobody bothered replanting the trees but went back to their homes celebrating a victory. A research by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) in the tropical forests concluded that between 200 and 2009 a total of approximately 32milion acres of land containing tree plantations were cut down every year. The EDF currently warns the world that the pace at which people are cutting down trees for different purposes is alarming and governments need to do something about the situation.
How deforestation causes global warming and climatic change
Trees, directly and indirectly, affect the earth’s temperature which brings about a global warming case. Trees are responsible for climatic change and when cut down they impact negatively on climatic change. Tress aid in the drawing up water from the earth soil and releasing it into the environment, that is the atmosphere. This is commonly referred to as the water cycle where cutting down trees interrupts the water cycle. Since trees have been cut down thus the failure to draw water from the soil making the atmosphere dry. In most cases when you go to deserted places, areas where trees are few and turning centers you will always find the humidity level to below (Grover, V. I. 2009). In tropical areas where there is more tress, there is always high levels of moisture in the atmosphere thus low and favorable temperature conditions for human living. When the environment is less humid it leads to an increase in the atmosphere’s temperature. Cutting down trees without replacement aids in the long-term climatic change such as desertification characterized by temperatures above 26 degrees Celsius.
Trees aid in locking up Carbon (iv) oxide in the atmosphere where they take up CO2 and release oxygen to the atmosphere which is then used by animals and humans during breathing. Cutting down trees means that carbon (iv) oxide is retained in the atmosphere which in turn causes global warming. Trees use carbon(iv) oxide during photosynthesis and this reduces CO2 Levels in the atmosphere, which results in long-term fluctuation of this gas (Hunt, C. A. G. 2011). Long-term effects of deforestation are felt when there is no carbon intake and the levels in the atmosphere increase causing a rise in temperature. The temperature of the earth mainly comes from heat due to the sun, where the level of temperature is between heat from the sun and the one bouncing back into space. Carbon (iv) oxide is a heat absorbing gas which then absorbs the heat meant to go back to space and later releases it to the atmosphere causing a rise in temperature thus global warming. The process of trees using up carbon (iv) oxide from the atmosphere is called carbon “sink” where deforestation hinders the effectiveness of this activity. Per every two acres of tropical forests, it is believed that 350 metric tons of carbon are stored thus cutting down an acre at once implies 180 metric tons of carbon(iv)oxide gas is released to the atmosphere which is dangerous (Hunt, C. A. G. 2011).
Albedo process is affected by deforestation. Albedo refers to the fraction of electromagnetic radiations reflected by a body or surface according to the dictionary. Weather scientists refer the albedo process to the event in which radiations from the sun are reflected back into space which in turn reduced temperatures in the atmosphere. In most cases, radiations from the sun are always reflected by the snow surfaces. Cutting down trees leads to reduced moisture which affects snow formation thus less of the sun’s radiations are reflected in space. When most of the radiations are absorbed in the atmosphere there results in warming which after a period of time becomes global warming. General Circulation Models (GCM’s) have explained that deforestation leads to a slower albedo rate by the land.
Lastly, deforestation indirectly cases global warming where trees cut are burnt to produce fuel where in this process Carbon (iv) oxide and other gases are released into the atmosphere. Also, trees produce wood which is the key raw material in the paper industry, by facilitating the paper industry there are gases emitted such as nitrogen, methane and carbon gases. Humans cut down trees to set up greenhouses for food production where there are gases emitted in this type of farming. The gases include methane, chlorofluorocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, which absorb heat from the space and later release to the atmosphere resulting in global warming. Cattle keeping and livestock farming is another source of greenhouse gases, burning of fossil fuels releases carbon and nitrogen oxides which also contribute to global warming.
How global warming (climate change) affects tree population
It is a vice versa activity where trees are cut down they cause global warming, and this climate change later destroys other trees or prevent fast growth. The first effect of global warming on the forests is that increased temperatures in the atmosphere will lead to a slow growth rate of trees. Also, heating up of the atmosphere in some environments mostly leads to shifting of the geographical habitat of some tree species thus depreciating forests coverage in the affected regions. Specific tree species grow in specific conditions; an example is the mahogany tree which grows in tropical conditions thus if the region’s conditions are no longer favorable the species might end up being extinct in the region reducing the population (United States. 1989). Cactus is known to grow in arid and semi-arid regions thus global warming in a specific region will lead to this type of species being common in the arid region.
Global warming increases the risk of drought and dry season in some areas and flooding and heavy rainfall in the alternate areas. The risk of drought implies that there will be less plant growth when such season come. Drought makes it hard for trees to grow since the moisture in the atmosphere is less to even facilitate the first stage of plant growth. Global warming leads to interrupted snowmelt timings thus leading to seasonal water availability which in turn affect effective tree and plant growth (Grover, V. I. 2009). Some tree species do not grow in drought areas thus by global warming provoking drought it means that there will be less natural trees growing thus the natural forests will be affected. Drought can lead to forest fires because shrubs and trees that are dry produce fuel used by wildfires thus global warming comes with risks of causing a wildfire. Trees always produce sap that prevents insects such as pine beetle which destroys them, however, when there is drought it becomes hard to produce the sap thus easily destroyed.
Lastly, global warming indirectly affects forests through flooding which in turn causes soil erosion making the forest areas to be less in nutrients making trees to grow slowly or wither then die. At the oceans, warm currents due to global warming build up slowly giving time form the storm formation and when they make a landfall they are characterized by heavy rainfall. Scientists say that climate change may result in intensified storms which can cause floods due to the record rainfall (United States. 1989). Other effects of global warming include ocean acidification due to an increase in the concentration of gases in the atmosphere. Change in ecosystems since animals and other creatures will migrate to other regions that favor them compared to the harsh conditions in the drought region (Grover, V. I. 2009). Reduced crop production which will, in turn, affect food availability which will result in migration by humans. Human activities lead to global warming which then affects their general health since drought brings issues such as lack of food and water scarcity which may long-term lead to malnutrition. Drought also leads to the death of wildlife and wildlife diseases because of unfavorable conditions characterized by high temperatures, less food and lack of enough water.
Solutions to deforestation
Since deforestation comes with negative effects being among the key causes to global warming there are solutions to reduce the rate of deforestation thus preventing global warming. Many are less aware of the long-term effects of deforestation which are very adverse such as global warming, drought, and loss of species living in the forest. To help solve the problem the first thing is to educate on the dangers and disadvantages that come with deforestation as a human activity. Education can be done through government programs set to increase awareness in the nations, individuals educating friends and family and having schools to teach about deforestation and its effects of global warming. Through education, people will be aware and an impact on reducing tree cut down will be made.
Advocating for reforestation is the best way to solve deforestation since there is the need to cut down forest then replanting is the best thing to do. When one cuts tone tree then he or she needs to plant two, this should be a policy in all the regions. This will help compensate the trees cut at the moment and those that were cut before without replacement (Wolvekamp, P. 1999). Law and regulations need to be in place which they will advocate for replanting trees once one has the permit to cut down one and in failing to abide by the rules, there should be huge fines and consequences that will make people have no choice.
Green business should be the way to go by everyone where it encourages reusing and recycling products. Greenways of manufacturing and using minimal resources possible can help reduce the rate of deforestation by a great margin. Recycling wood used in fires can be through using the charcoal produced further for fuel production. Plastics and paper can be recycled to avoid cutting down trees for more production yet the plastics are thrown away after a single use (Greenpeace South East Asia-Indonesia, & In Webster, S. 2014). People should have the option of using recycled paper, printing books, notebooks and tissue paper this will reduce the demand of new products which indirectly will limit the industries to acquiring less wood from the forests for paper production.
Eating less meat will reduce the need to clear forests to set up cattle ranches and farms. Also, technology should be on the lookout to come up with new ways to expand the roads, for example, investing in underground roads and railway tunnels rather than clearing forested land for expansion. For those who are aware of the dangers of deforestation should always buy fiber products that have a certification from the forest systems and authorities. Organizations should come together that is the wildlife, forestry and water departments need to team up and advocate for forest conservation because forests are home to wildlife and major water catchment areas. When these organizations come together they can advocate for forest conservation and ensure they aim at the same goal of protecting, restoring and preserving forests. Community forestry should be encouraged where schools, government, and organizations team up to protect their local forests by advocating for conservation (Wolvekamp, P. 1999). Community forestry also entails planting trees in areas left bare to make the environment sustainable. Schools also need to be planting trees during ceremonies, sports days and on the worlds environmental day to increase the number of trees in their environment.
Things to note about forests and deforestation
Amazon forests give about 20% of the oxygen in the world thus we need to protect this forests and other forests to retain and improve oxygen level.
Deforestation may be a threat to hydro diversity where over 25000 species may go extinct in the next 100year if deforestation rates continue to increase as it the case right now. Among the endangered plants that may go extinct if deforestation rates continue to increase are Rafflesia and Orchids (Wolvekamp, P. 1999).
Deforestation leads to global warming which in turn causes floods, heavy rains, soil erosion, and wildlife deaths.
Global warming is said to be increasing and the key factor speeding it is deforestation where each year forests estimated to the size of Panama are cut down.
The Amazon, Cerrado, Eastern Australia, Congo Basin, Borneo, Greater Mekong, New Guinea, Sumatra, Eastern Africa, Atlantic Forest and Choco-Darien are among the top ten forests that are under the danger of deforestation. This forests are home to over 50% of the animal species and need to be protected (Owens, C. 1999).
In conclusion, forests are very important to humans, animals and other plant species thus need to be protected and more trees planted. The effects of global warming are bad enough to affect the existence of some species thus to protect this lives we need to advocate for the importance of forests and prevent unplanned cutting down of trees with no intentions of replanting. Countries need to participate fully in the program by the United Nations called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). It is our role as individuals to protect and educate the illiterate about the importance of forests and effects of deforestation.
References
Durham, W. H., & Painter, M. (1998). The social causes of environmental destruction in Latin America. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press.
Entwisle, B., Stern, P. C., National Research Council (U.S.)., & National Research Council (U.S.). (2005). Population, land use, and environment: Research directions. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Greenpeace South East Asia-Indonesia,, & In Webster, S. (2014). Down to zero: How Greenpeace is ending deforestation in Indonesia : 2003-2013 and beyond.
Grover, V. I. (2009). Global warming and climate change: Ten years after Kyoto and still counting. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Hunt, C. A. G. (2011). Carbon sinks and climate change: Forests in the flight against global warming. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Owens, C. (1999). Deforestation. Chanhassen, MN: Child’s World.
United States. (1989). The potential impact of global warming on agriculture: Hearing before the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, United States Senate, One Hundredth Congress, second session on the potential effects of global warming and global climate change on U.S. agriculture and forestry, December 1, 1988. Washington: U.S. G.P.O.
Wolvekamp, P. (1999). Forests for the future: Local strategies to prevent deforestation, economic blunders and injustice. London: Zed.