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The majority of deforestation took place prior to 1910 with the Forest Service reporting the minimum forestation as 721,000,000 acres (2,920,000 km 2) around 1920. [2] The forest resources of the United States remained relatively constant through the 20th century. [3]
The regions with the highest tropical deforestation rate between 2000 and 2005 were Central America—which lost 1.3% of its forests each year—and tropical Asia. [49] In Central America , two-thirds of lowland tropical forests have been turned into pasture since 1950 and 40% of all the rainforests have been lost in the last 40 years. [ 66 ]
It is estimated that 20,000 km 2 (7,700 sq mi) are deforested each year. [34] Areas nearer to China are most affected, as it is the main source for timber. [35] Deforestation in Russia is particularly damaging as the forests have a short growing season due to extremely cold winters and therefore take longer to recover.
The current rate of deforestation is 160,000 square kilometers per year, which equates to a loss of approximately 1% of original forest habitat each year. [10] Other forest ecosystems have suffered as much or more destruction as tropical rainforests.
The majority of deforestation took place prior to 1910 with the Forest Service reporting the minimum forestation as 721,000,000 acres (2,920,000 km 2) around 1920. [8] The forest resources of the United States remained relatively constant through the 20th century. [9]
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Deforestation in the tropics – given as the annual average between 2010 and 2014 – was responsible for 2.6 billion tonnes of CO 2 per year. That was 6.5% of global CO 2 emissions . Deforestation is a primary contributor to climate change , [ 1 ] [ 2 ] and climate change affects the health of forests. [ 3 ]
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.