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Land use change, especially in the form of deforestation, is the second largest source of carbon dioxide emissions from human activities, after the burning of fossil fuels. [4] [5] Greenhouse gases are emitted from deforestation during the burning of forest biomass and decomposition of remaining plant material and soil carbon.
Deforestation is defined as the conversion of forest to other land uses (regardless of whether it is human-induced). [14] Deforestation and forest area net change are not the same: the latter is the sum of all forest losses (deforestation) and all forest gains (forest expansion) in a given period. Net change, therefore, can be positive or ...
In 2024, deforestation in Colombia's Amazon region has increased by 40% during the first quarter compared to the same period last year, according to a report. [152] This rise in deforestation is occurring amidst the influence of a strong El Niño weather phenomenon, causing dry and hot conditions that have led to droughts and fires throughout ...
Deforestation is the main land use change contributor to global warming, [126] as the destroyed trees release CO 2, and are not replaced by new trees, removing that carbon sink. [127] Between 2001 and 2018, 27% of deforestation was from permanent clearing to enable agricultural expansion for crops and livestock.
Drivers of deforestation and forest degradation by region, 2000–2010, from the Food and Agriculture Organization publication The State of the World's Forests 2020. Forests, biodiversity and people – In brief [3] Deforestation is much worse than forest degradation, but it is clear and visible.
Amazon deforestation jumped by 69% in 2008 compared to 2007's twelve months, according to official government data. [ 57 ] However, a 30 January 2009 New York Times article stated, "By one estimate, for every acre of rainforest cut down each year, more than 50 acres of new forest are growing in the tropics."
Deforestation is an example of large-scale land use change. The deforestation of temperate regions since 1750 has had a major effect on land cover. [19] The reshaping of landscapes to serve human needs, such as the deforestation for farmland, can have long-term effects on earth systems and exacerbate the causes of climate change. [20]
In other words, what do people lose out on with the removal of a given habitat? A country may increase its food supply by converting forest land to row-crop agriculture, but the value of the same land may be much larger when it can supply natural resources or services such as clean water, timber, ecotourism, or flood regulation and drought control.