What effect does the cutting down of trees have on soil and global warming?

Question

What effect does the cutting down of trees have on soil and global warming?

Answer 1

Cutting down trees without immediately covering the soil with new plants or trees creates soil loss.   Rains and wind will remove the topsoil making the land less fertile and clogging rivers/streams.

Cutting down trees and not replacing them takes away nature's CO2 removal system.  The more CO2 in the atomosphere (in theory) the more you get a greenhouse effect, where heat is held instead of radiated out into space.

Even worse is when trees are removed via slash-and-burn methods, such as in Brazil where whole areas of rainforest are burned to make way for cheap beef farming.   You have the original problems plus you're putting all the carbon the tree was holding immediately into the atmosphere.   At least with logging, those trees are kept in a state where they're not going to burn or decay (inside building walls).

Answer 2

It can effect the climate of that region where the trees are being cut if no trees are being planted to take their place. The Sahara Desert is a prime example of how the climate of a region can be changed. I haven't verified this, but it's said that the area used to be grassland and it was over grazing that caused it to change into a desert.

Answer 3

Depends upon the area and the trees being cut.  I live in Northern WI, selective cutting does very little damage to the soil if you use the correct machinery to remove the timber.  You don't plant trees because they will naturally grow within the forest on their own.   Clear cutting gets a bad rap however some species of trees are best to clear cut because the species will mature in 30 years and will be ready to harvest.   We do have pine plantations made up mostly of red pine,  and once in awhile some jack pine.  If they are not cut correctly the trees will not grow and be stunted, if you over cut you will lose the balance of the plantation.   You look at a basil area and it will determine how many trees you can have within that area.  Usually when you get erosion its due to poor logging practice and the use of machinery that can create ruts, just like all industry you will get those who don't care and see the forest for strictly profit.  The worst thing for the forest is fragmentation where you have lots divided and people build homes within tracts of land.  Once land for forest is divided and homes are built the are difficult to maintain and harvesting the timber becomes cumbersome.  As far as global warming,  I am not a proponent of AGW however I do know that a sustainable healthy forest can be nothing but good for environment.

Answer 4

Trees while growing hold water in their trunks, branches and leaves.  A whole forest is cool to walk thru compared to walking in a treeless field.(the shade providing additional cooling)  Even grasses hold moisture, not as much as trees but some, again cooling effect on the lands.      All greenery breathe in CO2 and converts that to O2 (which we need to survive).    CO2 has been proven in lab experiments to be insulative and thereby reflect heat back down instead of letting it float out into space(where it cools).   This additional temperature on such a grand scale as the entire globe is having negative effects to the weather,(which is more than just a cold year for the beach or too warm for skiing.......places that grew crops, can't because of the bad weather....and if it is multiple years....lost food production.   Places where the weather is ideal for growing crops? the soils are not prepared or maybe it is mountainous or in the ocean.  Everything is shifting.   Cannot blame one country(Brazil).  Clearcutting goes on in North America and in Europe,  and the ocean plankton which does the major portion of the conversion.....there must be something wrong out in the oceans, as we continue to pump out pollutants into those lungs. IMO

Answer 5

takes away the recyclable elements that have kept us alive, lets the oceans warm and cools the earth, all bad for you kids,

what your not told is that every-time that a rocket is sent into space it does more damage to the ozone layer, then all the industries in the world do in a year !

Protest kids, it's going to be your world and we only us 20% oxegen, so the more gone, you get the idea.

Answer 6

Cutting down trees without immediately covering the soil with new plants or trees creates soil loss. Its very easy actually how badly peoples mis behavior towards the environment can effects all this!

Cutting down trees and not replacing them removes nature's CO2 removal system. Trees are important because a/ they absorb all of the carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, and all around, they help keep the soil moist and give off the fresh oxygen we need to breath and live a healthy life!

Now, walk into the middle of Toronto (i live in canada) or New york, or a down town area, the air is just clouded with the awfull smell, and you can just smell the C.D. and G.H.G. emissions in the air! Now walk into a forest of really rurral area, SMELL THE DIFFERENCE....This is because as I said the trees absorb all of that Co2 and bad air that is helping to cause global warming.

Now picture this people, if the trees are important in the process of absorbing all of this, picture what would happen if they were all gone..... Nothing would be there to absorb it, trees are one of the main importances in the helping to stop global warming, and their beuty is just amazing, picture a world without the trees, the animals would have no homes. increasing the sightings of road kill.

The waste of soil too! its important that you always re-plant the trees after you cut them down, and some people, they have that cut-and-burn tecnique, this damages the soil, thus making it un-usable due to too much damage infused on it. The saharrah desert for example, have you seen the sand, its completely un usable no matter how much you water it, because even if the proper soil was transfered, it is much to close to the sun and all planted trees and shrubs would simply burn!

The soil and trees are important in the process in helping to prevent global warming, because without the trees, there is nothing to absorb all of the green house gases and co2, and without the soil there`s nothing to re-plant the in!

Hope this helped,

Courtney D. :)

Answer 7

Global Warming is a scam.... It is not just trees but all plant life. If the plants die we also will die.

Answer 8

In extreme cases we would see the making of new Sahara deserts. That is the end result of not nurturing land to keep it healthy and productive. This is a noecons dream scape if they get their way.