Environmental Impacts of Deforestation

Environmental Impacts of Deforestation
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Environmental Impacts of Deforestation
Deforestation is a significant international problem that has affected the environment adversely. Based on a report from the World Bank, about 502,000 square miles of forests were lost from 1990 to 2016. About 46% of trees have been felled due to human activities (Nunez, 2019). Some of the primary causes of deforestation include livestock ranching, logging, overpopulation, agricultural activities, infrastructure expansion, and urbanization. Deforestation leads to the disruption of the carbon cycle, reduction of species diversity, food insecurity, soil erosion, climate change, and the disruption of the hydrologic cycle. Indeed, it destroys the habitat of various species, which become extinct with time. Hydrologic and carbon cycles are also adversely affected since trees disrupt the balance of gases in the atmosphere and rain patterns. The paper focuses on the three primary impacts of deforestation on the environment, namely the disruption of the hydrologic cycle, reduction of species diversity, and the disruption of the carbon cycle.
Deforestation affects the carbon cycle, which is also called global warming or the greenhouse gas effect. In particular, forests balance the carbon in the atmosphere since trees and other vegetation undergo the process of photosynthesis, which entails making their food. During photosynthesis, trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, hence balancing the atmospheric gases. According to EarthLabs, “forests have a cooling influence on climate by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing that carbon in their leaves, wood, and roots (EarthLabs, n.d.).” When carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere, it forms a layer like a blanket that traps heat on the earth’s surface. The excess heat causes global warming and an increased level of precipitation. That is the reason why ice in the Arctic and Antarctic regions is melting leading to the loss of biodiversity and different species. Indeed, deforestation leads to an imbalance in the carbon cycle, which causes climate change if unaddressed for an extended period (Wheeling, 2020). Consequently, although people might have valid reasons for felling trees, they should not forget that a balance in the carbon cycle is crucial for a healthy environment.
When people fell trees without planting others, they contribute to the disruption of the hydrologic or water cycle. According to Noemi Vergopolan and Joshua Fisher, “deforestation leads to a relative increase in precipitation (P) and evapotranspiration (ET) in the affected areas, though there was a positive correlation between P and ET over southern/deforested, and negative in northern/forested Amazonia” (Vergopolan & Fisher, 2016). Specifically, the Amazon rainforest is one of the largest forests in the world, and deforestation in that region has adversely affected the surrounding by influencing the water cycle. Forests contribute to the transportation of large water quantities to the atmosphere through transpiration. In other terms, trees absorb water from underground using their roots through their stems to their leaves....