Deforestation is the mass destruction of trees. Deforestation is occurring at an alarming rate. The biggest source of deforestation is agriculture, where farmers cut trees to create fields for crops or livestock. Logging operations, used to create paper or wood, are also a contributor as well as mining, drilling, wildfires, and urban sprawl.
Forests
Forests cover 30% of the planet. They are crucial to the ecosystems they create, which support life on earth.
Effect On
Climate Change
When trees are cut down they release their stored carbon into the atmosphere. When they are alive they absorb greenhouse gases and convert them into oxygen. Less forests mean more greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere thus increasing global warming.
Estimates of 4000-6000 rainforest species go extinct each year.
Two billion people rely on forests for food and shelter.
Forests provide habitats for over 80% of the plants and animals that live on land.
Scientists estimate that tree cover can provide about a quarter of climate change mitigation needed to meet the Paris Agreement
