The Dark Side of Deforestation Did you know that 80% of the world’s known plants and animals live in forests and are steadily losing their habitats to deforestation? Deforestation happens for a number of reasons and causes biodiversity to decline. As biodiversity declines, animals are dying and relocating because their ecosystem is becoming unstable. Some of the species in forests are unidentified species, others vast webs of plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria. Deforestation causes many damaging effects to the Earth. Among these effects, destroying animal habitats is one of the biggest issues it causes. Deforestation is defined as “the action or process of clearing of forests” (Merriam-Webster, 2017). There are several different ways deforestation
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Deforestation causes this cycle to not work as smoothly. Trees absorb the carbon every living animal exhales and turns it into the oxygen every living being inhales. If there are less trees to absorb that carbon dioxide, the carbon has nowhere to go. This will cause the surface of the earth to slowly rise. When a tree dies, it releases all the carbon stored inside it so cutting and burning trees causes carbon levels in the atmosphere to rise (onegreenplanet.org).
Another important cycle that deforestation messes with is the water cycle. Trees absorb rainfall and then transpire the extra water into water vapor, sending it back into the atmosphere. This not only helps irrigate them again at a later date, but it helps keep the water from getting polluted, stopping polluted runoffs.
As trees are removed from forests it causes several problems. When the trees are removed, their roots are no longer there to hold soil in place, causing vegetation growth issues. The World Wildlife Foundation states that “scientists estimate that a third of the world's arable land has been lost to deforestation since 1950” (wwf.panda.org). Soil erosion can also lead to water pollution. With nothing to hold the soil in place it can easily get into lakes, streams, and other waterways. This can cause a decrease in water quality and lead to health issues in populations nearby …show more content…
Animals use plants for food and shelter, nesting sites to give birth, and protection from larger prey (explorenaturalcommunities.org). Leaves and twigs are the food for insects while seeds are good for smaller animals. While this is going on the animals also disperse seeds by dropping them to the forest floor while others float from plant to plant to pollinate. Animals who eat small mammals or insects protect the plants from being overly damaged from plant eaters. All of this is happening while the trees let out oxygen and give the creatures a place to live safely.
One of the biggest impacts deforestation has is on animal habitats. The trees are almost like the foundation of a forest ecosystem. They protect and nurture the animals, giving them shelter and food, all while cleaning up the environment. Most plants and animals live in areas that have a very specific climate that helps them survive and thrive. Even the littlest change can affect the organisms living there, along with the entire makeup of the entire ecosystem. Ripping the roots of the ecosystem up, literally, isn’t going to bode well on the ecosystem, or the rest of the world for that
Deforestation causes this cycle to not work as smoothly. Trees absorb the carbon every living animal exhales and turns it into the oxygen every living being inhales. If there are less trees to absorb that carbon dioxide, the carbon has nowhere to go. This will cause the surface of the earth to slowly rise. When a tree dies, it releases all the carbon stored inside it so cutting and burning trees causes carbon levels in the atmosphere to rise (onegreenplanet.org).
Another important cycle that deforestation messes with is the water cycle. Trees absorb rainfall and then transpire the extra water into water vapor, sending it back into the atmosphere. This not only helps irrigate them again at a later date, but it helps keep the water from getting polluted, stopping polluted runoffs.
As trees are removed from forests it causes several problems. When the trees are removed, their roots are no longer there to hold soil in place, causing vegetation growth issues. The World Wildlife Foundation states that “scientists estimate that a third of the world's arable land has been lost to deforestation since 1950” (wwf.panda.org). Soil erosion can also lead to water pollution. With nothing to hold the soil in place it can easily get into lakes, streams, and other waterways. This can cause a decrease in water quality and lead to health issues in populations nearby …show more content…
Animals use plants for food and shelter, nesting sites to give birth, and protection from larger prey (explorenaturalcommunities.org). Leaves and twigs are the food for insects while seeds are good for smaller animals. While this is going on the animals also disperse seeds by dropping them to the forest floor while others float from plant to plant to pollinate. Animals who eat small mammals or insects protect the plants from being overly damaged from plant eaters. All of this is happening while the trees let out oxygen and give the creatures a place to live safely.
One of the biggest impacts deforestation has is on animal habitats. The trees are almost like the foundation of a forest ecosystem. They protect and nurture the animals, giving them shelter and food, all while cleaning up the environment. Most plants and animals live in areas that have a very specific climate that helps them survive and thrive. Even the littlest change can affect the organisms living there, along with the entire makeup of the entire ecosystem. Ripping the roots of the ecosystem up, literally, isn’t going to bode well on the ecosystem, or the rest of the world for that