Earth may be called the “blue planet” because of its massive oceans, but forests are just as important. Trees cover around ⅓ of the land’s surface and shelter most of the life forms on land. While humans have always used forests for wood, food, and other resources, our treatment of trees is pushing forest health to the brink. Known as “deforestation,” the cutting and clearing of forests has serious consequences for the environment, wildlife, and humans. In this article, we’ll explore 13 of the most alarming facts about deforestation.
#1. Agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation
The agricultural industry, which produces crops, plants, livestock, and other resources for food and non-food products, is massive. Humans need it to survive, especially as the global population grows, but it’s also the leading cause of deforestation. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, four commodities drive most tree-cutting in the tropics: soy, palm oil, wood products, and beef. While we can’t stop engaging in agriculture, we can adjust our methods to slow deforestation and mitigate its effects. Agroforestry, which is the integration of trees into farming systems, is an ancient and sustainable method that protects forests while allowing humans to cultivate crops.
#2. Deforestation in tropical rainforests is especially severe
Tropical rainforests are home to species not found anywhere else on Earth, like the pink river dolphin, the poison dart frog, and the capybara. Unfortunately, deforestation devastates tropical rainforests. According to the World Wildlife Fund, 17% of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed to make way for cattle ranches. If deforestation continues at a high pace, all the world’s rainforests could be gone in just 100 years. Millions of plants and animals could go extinct, while the 1 billion people who rely on tropical rainforests would suffer.
#3. Russia had the most deforestation from 2001-2023
When people think of huge forests, they probably think of the humid forests of the Amazon. While the Amazon rainforest is giant, Russia is home to the biggest area of natural forests. 49% of Russia’s land mass is covered with trees. Because Russia has so many forests, it’s vulnerable to deforestation. According to The Global Forest Watch, Russia had the most relative tree cover loss from 2001-2023, losing about 83.7 million hectares. Brazil came in second place for the most tree loss, followed by Canada, the United States, and Indonesia.
#4. The reasons for deforestation are complicated
We know agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, but there are other drivers. Poverty is a major one. This makes sense; when people experience poverty, they’re more likely to engage in unsustainable forestry practices to earn more money. However, according to the Earth Observatory, studies show we can’t place all the blame on poverty. Road and railway expansion causes a lot of tree clearing, too, while tax breaks and subsidies for agricultural companies encourage excessive deforestation. It’s important to understand all the reasons for deforestation if we want to address it effectively.
#5. Deforestation makes climate change worse
Climate change is the warming of the planet by natural and human-driven causes. Over the past centuries, humans have caused the most severe global warming. Deforestation is a big contributor. Why? Trees store carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas. When these forests are cut down or burned, that carbon gets released into the atmosphere where it traps heat and warms the planet. If that wasn’t bad enough, climate change also damages forests and triggers a vicious cycle. According to Reuters, the drought and heat caused by climate change could threaten 10-47% of the Amazon’s forest by 2050 so severely, there’s very little we could do to save it.
#6. Deforestation changes soil in dramatic ways
So much of the planet’s health depends on the health of its soil. Deforestation changes soil composition and function in several major ways. When trees are cleared, soil can’t store nutrients or carbon as effectively as before. Soil also becomes vulnerable to erosion, which makes the land less fertile for growing crops (which is often the reason why trees were cleared in the first place) and more likely to flood. According to an article in Nature, these negative effects can last for decades, and even when trees are planted again, the soil is never the same.
#7. Deforestation makes air pollution worse
Humans, animals, and plants need clean air to thrive, but according to the World Health Organization, 99% of the world’s population lives in areas with high levels of pollutants. Deforestation can make air pollution worse. For example, in the Amazon, fires are regularly set to clear land for cattle, land speculation, and agriculture. The pollution gets worse in July through October, which is the dry season. Millions of people, especially children, older people, pregnant people, and people with lung or heart disease, suffer serious health problems and even death. According to one study, between 3,300-3,550 people died in 2019 because of increased air pollution in the Amazon.
#8. Deforestation increases mercury pollution
Mercury is a natural part of the Earth’s crust, but it can cause serious problems if too much gets released into the land and water. From there, animals like fish and shellfish ingest the mercury and change it into methylmercury, which is toxic. When humans get exposed to high levels of mercury, mercury poisoning can cause permanent brain damage, damage to the nervous system, and death. According to an MIT study, 10% of human-made mercury emissions come from deforestation. As they do with carbon, trees remove mercury from the air, but as forests get cut down around the world, mercury emissions increase.
#9. Deforestation can make humans sicker
Mercury poisoning isn’t the only health risk that comes from deforestation. Many animals live in forests, and when their habitats shrink, it brings them closer and closer to humans. This increases the risk of “zoonotic spillover,” which is when diseases mutate and hop from animals to humans. HIV is a prime example. According to scientists, HIV was once a virus that only infected chimpanzees in West Africa. It most likely transferred to people when hunters got exposed to infected blood. COVID-19 is another example of a virus once exclusive to animals. Forests keep animal diseases away from humans, but as trees get cleared and animals and human start sharing spaces, the risk of mutation and exposure increases.
#10. Deforestation can lead to animals becoming endangered – or going extinct
Forests are home to 68% of mammal species, 80% of amphibians, and 75% of birds. Deforestation destroys these habitats and puts all these creatures at risk. If their homes aren’t preserved, they can go extinct. That’s what happened to the Formosan clouded leopard, a mammal from Taiwan. In 2013, the leopard was declared extinct after years of no sightings. There may have been sightings in 2019, but the animal is still officially considered extinct. Conservationists blamed poaching and deforestation, which destroyed around 10% of the leopard’s habitat every year since 1997.
#11. Deforestation may seem profitable, but it hurts the economy in the long term
Why do people cut down so many trees? Money. Ranches, mines, crop fields, livestock meadows, and more make money, but the financial benefits are often short-term. Around 1 billion people need forests for food, shelter, and jobs, and deforestation removes valuable resources like nuts, fruit, resin, and more. In the Amazon alone, deforestation could cost the economy $317 billion every year, which is seven times more than profits gained from logging, mining, and private agricultural expansion. In other words, preserving the Amazon is more valuable than cutting it down.
#12. Underwater deforestation is a problem, too
While they’re not forests in the same way as the forests on land, kelp canopies are victims of deforestation, too! Found in the ocean, kelp forests provide shelter and food for fish, shrimp, lobster, urchins, seals, otters, and thousands of other underwater animals. As climate change warms water that’s usually cool, tropical fish move into kelp forests and overgraze. This destruction of kelp and other seagrass threatens the entire ecosystem. Things are especially dire in Northern California. In the last decade, 96% of the kelp forests disappeared, according to research from The Nature Conservancy.
#13. Conservation is key to ending deforestation
Deforestation is a complicated problem, but there are solutions. Planting more trees can be good, but there’s no way young trees can replace old-growth forests that have existed for hundreds of years. Conservation has to be a major part of the plan. Location matters. According to research, most protected forests are in places where deforestation isn’t a serious problem. Conservation efforts need to target the forests where deforestation, biodiversity loss, and climate change are real threats. Indigenous communities, who not only protect 80% of the world’s biodiversity, but also manage their forests better, need to get more resources, support, and land rights, too. When forests are protected by groups and organizations that know what they’re doing, we can significantly reduce deforestation.