Long Term Effects Of Deforestation Essay

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Quisenberry, Byrklin

What are the long term effects caused by deforestation?

Deforestation is defined as the destruction of trees, thus removing a forest and turning it into clear land (Deforestation). Not only does deforestation eliminate an entire area of trees, it also does not plan on ever replanting or establishing a new place for trees (Deforestation: Definition, Causes & Consequences).

Before talking about the effects of destroying our forests, it is important to know the benefits that around 1.6 billion people receive from forests. Aside from the oxygen trees in forests produce which keeps us as people alive, these 1.6 billion people rely on the forests for “food, fresh water, clothing, traditional medicine and shelter” (Deforestation: Causes, Effects and Solutions). There are …show more content…

However, the main two long term effects are climate change and ecosystem destruction. To begin with, the world’s ecosystem is being destroyed along with the forest, this is because tropical rainforests contain 80% of species. When these forests are removed these species’ habitats are taken, leaving them with small forested areas , where they are often unable to survive. Even if they do survive, the land they are left with is easily accessible to poachers and hunters, leading to the extinction of many species (Deforestation: Causes, Effects and Solutions). Another consequence to killing entire forests at a time is climate change. This climate change is due to the fact that forests help keep carbon dioxide levels and other greenhouse gas emissions out of the atmosphere. However, when these forests are destroyed, around 15 to 20 percent of greenhouse gasses are released into the atmosphere causing temperatures to increase and the weather pattern to change (Deforestation: Causes, Effects and Solution).

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