Page 152 - Science Class 07
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DEFORESTATION sign. The amount of CO is also increasing due
2
Deforesta on is the clearing, destroying or to deforesta on and industralisa on. All these
otherwise removal of trees through deliberate, things have resulted in an overall climate
natural or accidental means. It can occur in any change.
area densely populated by trees and other v Soil Erosion : Soil erosion is a con nuous
plant life, but the majority of it is currently process and may occur either at a rela vely
happening in the Amazon rainforest. unno ced rate or an alarming rate contri-
bu ng to copious loss of the topsoil. The
outcomes of soil erosion are reduced agri-
cultural produc vity, ecological collapse, soil
degrada on, and the possibility of deser fi-
ca on.
v Flood : Forests also check floods. The trees
of the forest act as natural barrier for the
flowing water and hence control floods to
Deforesta on
a certain extent. In many parts of the world
The loss of trees and other vegeta on can floods occur frequently because there are
cause climate change, deser fica on, soil no forests.
erosion, fewer crops, flooding, increased
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and a
host of problems for indigenous people.
Deforesta on occurs for a number of reasons,
including farming, urbanisa on (the main
responsible factor) and logging for materials
and development. It has been happening for
thousands of years, arguably since man began
Flood
conver ng from hunter/gatherer to agricultural
based socie es, and required larger, unob- v Loss of natural habitat : You already know
structed tracks of land to accommodate ca le, that forests provide habitat for a wide
crops and housing. It was only a er the onset variety of animals. Due to deforesta on
of the modern era that it became an epidemic. the animals lose their habitat. In this case,
Deforesta on has a great impact on the they either move to other places or die.
environment as well as on the living beings. Many rare species of plants and animals
have vanished due to deforesta on.
Let's study about these impacts:
Climate Change
Forest helps in rainfall and also maintain the
temperature. Due to deforesta on a large part
of the earth is facing the problem of low
rainfall. The temperature of the earth’s atmos-
phere is also increasing which is not a good Ex nct Animals
152 Science-7
