How does deforestation contribute to the worsening of global warming?

Question

I know they emit tons of greenhouse gases but the thing I do not understand is how does cutting down trees emit greenhouse gases???

Answer 1

It isn't about them giving off CO2 when they're cut down. It's due to them not being there anymore to absorb the CO2. And the trees that really need our protection are the ones in our planets rainforests, since those are the ones that absorb the most CO2 and give us the most O2. (Blue-green algea is  another plant that excels at doing this too.) So even if you are one of us that are skeptical about Anthropogenic Global Warming, we must all come together to protect our planets rainforests.

Answer 2

Cutting down trees does not emit greenhouse gases. When you cut down trees you reduce the number of trees. Since trees are what take in CO2 and other greenhouse gases and turn them into Oxygen so reducing the number means more greenhouse gases not getting eliminated by trees.

Answer 3

Cutting down trees doesn't add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere directly but when we burn trees, because they are carbon based life forms, they release carbon dioxide and many times to get trees down quickly like in the amazon they will burn the trees sometimes.  Of course you have the other affect of having less oxygen because the carbon dioxide we emit does not get turned back into oxygen which those trees would do.  Burning trees or other fibrous plants for energy though is better for the environment, say ethanol, than burning oil because the carbon dioxide that is released is the same amount that would be released if that plant had decomposed in nature.

Answer 4

it doesnt emit any green house gases but trees are natural filters of greenhouse gases so the less trees the less filters and the more green house gases.

but in my personal opinion al gore is full of it and we are just fine.

Answer 5

Trees have been useful for mankind from the day this world came to exist.Air,fire water,land are the vital aspect of our life,trees  provide all these .if we do not stop deforestation,then that day is not far away when it will destroy the foundation of human life. That's why trees and animals are worshiped and protected in Hindu religion

Answer 6

Deforestation is only occurring in limited parts of the world. For the most part, we have more trees than ever before.

1980 - 2000

The overall plant bulk went up about 6 percent over much of the planet, the Amazon Forest made up 40% of this growth.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/06/...

1990 - Present

The continent's forest cover has expanded by almost 10 per cent

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/s...

http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/200109...

Answer 7

no trees= no oxygen= carbon dioxide. plus, most of rainforest deforestation includes mass lossage of ecosystems, pollution and flash cutting ( burning to make fertile soil for farm animals)

it doesn't add as much pollution as  people driving, and other pollutants, but it does contain at least 10% of the problem.

Answer 8

It's simple actually:

Humans, and animals alike, breathe in oxygen, and exhale Carbon Dioxide.

Vegetation: Inhale Carbon Dioxide, Exhale Oxygen.

Now, because of industrialization all over the world, we cut down CO2 breathing, and air cleaning vegetation, mainly trees but all vegetation does it, and we put down huge buildings that create huge amounts of CO2. So we are killing the things that clean and filter the air of CO2, and creating CO2 CAUSING buildings in the same place the trees were. Does that make sense?

Now, in the modern world, you have to add in a much bigger factor: We still have animals breathing in oxygen, breathing out co2. But now, you have buildings, doing nothing but exhaling co2 and other fossil fuels, cars that do nothing but EXHALE fossil fuels, nearly everything we do, EXHALES, in a way, co2. That leaves the plants with a whole lot of co2 to breath with very little vegetation left to do it because we are cutting and destroying so much of it so quickly.  With the way we're going, the rain forests, the places with the largest amount of co2 breathing, oxygen producing vegetation by a huge margin, will be gone in a matter of a couple decades. By then, if we dont change our habits, which i dont see masses of people in the US jumping up out of their chairs to do right now, planet Earth will be one giant rock with a thick atmosphere that doesnt produce any oxygen for us to breath, and produces billions, and trillions of tons of non breathable carbon dioxide and other green house gases. Itll be like a huge version of putting a plastic bag over your head, with you breathing in all of the oxygen available, and breathing out CO2, until there is no oxygen left to breathe, and you choke.

Dim, I know. But now you know, and hopefully now you care.  And dont worry, we're not going to suffocate anytime soon, by then, the Earth will be too warm to live on if we dont change.

Answer 9

An approximate area of more than thirty five football grounds of rainforest are deforested all over the world in every minute. The main area attacked for deforestation is the tropical rainforest – situated in on and around equator.

A. The main reason for deforestation is the demand for fuel, wood and paper products, cattle ranching, farming, mining and road construction.

a. Fuel: Half of all the trees cut down in the world are used for fuel. Burning wood is common in developing countries where there are often no readily-available alternatives. Most of the trees cut are not replaced, causing the problems.

b. Wood and Paper Products: The use of wood and paper is a huge factor driving deforestation all over the world. Hardwoods like mahogany are sought after for furniture and are consequently very valuable. Some time, for small number of mahogany, whole forest area is often cut down for those few trees.

c. Cattle-ranching: Areas of rainforest, generally in developing countries, are cleared by cutting down all the vegetation and then burning it. Pastures of grass are then grown and used for grazing cattle. As soon as the cattle are a certain age, they are slaughtered. Although some of the meat goes to the locals, a lot goes to the cheap meat industries in countries such as the UK, USA, and China etc. After a few years, all the nutrients have been removed from the already poor soil and the land is useless, so another area of rainforest has to be cleared.

d. Farming: Large areas of rainforest are cleared for farmland all over the world. In developing countries there are two main types of farming: (i) 'Slash and Burn' and (ii) 'Subsistence Farming'.

(i) Slash and Burn: Areas of forest are cleared to grow crops for a couple of years, then left for a few years for the rainforest to recover, then the process starts again. Slash and burn is the most sustainable of the farming methods, but only if the population in the area is low, because as soon as you get more people in an area, there is less land available for each person and areas of land don't have enough time to recover, so the soil is quickly exhausted. Slash and burn also increases air pollution.

(ii) Subsistence Farming: Small areas of land that have been cleared are farmed. The produce is used to feed the family and provide a small surplus to buy other goods. The problem with this method is that the soil is quickly exhausted of its few nutrients and they are not replaced. This means that the farmers have to rely increasingly on fertilizers before eventually being forced to move.

e. Mining and Infrastructure: Minerals such as gold, bauxite (aluminium ore) and iron ore are often discovered in areas of rainforest. To mine them huge portions of rainforest are cleared, not just the area where the mine is, but also routes for roads and areas for storage of equipment and housing for men. In places where there are large rivers running through rainforest, deforestation often takes place in order to build hydroelectric power stations. The resulting dams cause enormous amounts of flooding behind the walls and large areas of drought downriver.

f. Population Increase: The world population is increasing day by day. With this explosion of population the amount of land needed for humans to live on also increases exponentially. More and more forest areas are being cleared to provide living space. This is known as ‘urbanization’.

B. The adverse effects of deforestation:

(i) Immediate effects of deforestation include the washing away of soil in the monsoon season. This is because trees are no longer anchoring and binding the soil and so mud slides take place. The earth is leached of minerals by the large amounts of water. The lack of vegetation also means that there will be very few animals in the area. The lack of decomposing vegetation and animals means that the nutrients are not replaced and the area quickly becomes infertile.

(ii) Rivers often silt up as soil is moved downriver and deposition takes place. Fish and plants relying on clear water die as the river becomes more and more clogged. This has a knock-on effect through the entire food chain.

(iii) If large areas of rainforest are cleared, the pattern of precipitation may change. This is because less evapotranspiration (evapotranspiration is a term used to describe the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from the earth's land surface to atmosphere. Evaporation accounts for the movement of water to the air from sources such as the soil, canopy interception, and water bodies) takes place due to the lack of trees. Water is also not delayed before making its way through the ground because of the lack of trees, shrubs, and leaf litter.

(iv) Another very worrying effect of deforestation is global warming (please refer ‘description on global warming’ in the box below). The Earth is made habitable by a process called the greenhouse effect. Gases, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and water vapor (H2O), are found in the atmosphere. The effects of global warming are already showing themselves; the polar ice caps are melting and if this continues we are set for a significant rise in sea level, flooding many places.

C. How to help in mitigating the global warming:

(i) We should turn off the light when we do not require, and to use more energy-efficient bulbs. While energy-efficient bulbs are expensive, they do last longer. Not only will this save money, but it reduces the amount of electricity that needs to be generated and so less fossil fuels have to be burned.

(ii) Use public transport, walk, or cycle if possible. It is said that the bicycle is the most efficient form of transport known to man. Only travel in a car when necessary or share with some body to save petrol. This reduces CO2 emissions.

(iii) Try to buy paper or wood products that are certified by the Forestry Commission as being from sustainable, managed woodlands. Using recycled paper and its promotion help in reduction of destruction of forest.

(iv) Avoid excess printing of documents from the computer. Print non-presentation documents on the draft ink setting. If possible print on both sides of sheets of paper, thus saving both paper and money.

(v) Recycle as much as possible. This is not just limited to paper, but can include glass, plastic, metal, and a number of other things. Many councils run recycling collection services.

(vi) Encourage people you know to do any or all of the things above.

For further information on environmental issues please refer

http://www.environmentengineering.blogsp...

Answer 10

Trees are just the opposite of people -- they use carbon dioxide and give off oxygen.  By cutting down the trees, we are getting a double whammy -- even more, actually.  First, we are cutting down on the amount of oxygen in the air, second we are destroying our ability to convert the carbon dioxide into oxygen, and third, we are removing the flora that holds the water into the soil and keeps the topsoil on the ground and not running down into the bottom of lakes, rivers and oceans.

Answer 11

FIrst, there is nothing we can do if the planet warms as it is a natural cycle.  It has been warmer in the past as well as cooler. We are lucky to be living in a time when the climate is so moderate. Can anyone give me a concrete bad experience caused by global warming?

As for the deforestation, this is really a good way to lock up the carbon in trees. If we replant what is cut as they do in managed forests, the new trees absorb much more CO2 than older trees. If older trees die and decompose, all their carbon is released back into the air. But if the tree is turned into a house or furniture, then it gets locked up and will not be released back into the atmosphere.