Effects of Deforestation

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Negative Effects of Deforestation Deforestation is described as when a group of trees are destroyed or removed and the land that they were on is used for activities that are not as beneficial to the environment as the group of trees were (Michigan). Deforestation is an activity that is done by most groups of people on Earth, although on very different scales and usually for different reasons. Unindustrialized groups usually do it to build shelter and to clear land for farming and for survival. Most industrialized groups of people on Earth do it on a much wider scale than the non-industrialized groups because they have more people to support and the land is utilized for humans (Damette). Although the here-now-money aspect of it seems very appealing, it is very detrimental to the environment in the long run and there are several different negative effects that result from it. The deforestation of land affects the environment in several negative ways. Removing trees prompts changes in the climate, affecting the hydrological cycle. If a group of trees are removed, then the trees cannot pick up water through their roots and therefore halting transpiration through the leaves. More than 95% of the water that is absorbed by the roots is released into the atmosphere (Fao). If this water is not leaving the trees through their leaves, then it will eventually lead to a slightly drier climate. If this occurs to a large amount of trees, then the climate would proceed to dry out even more. Also this water cannot be evaporated out of the air, therefore impeding the water cycle from working at maximum potential. Deforestation is cited as one of the leading causes of the greenhouse effect. The part of deforestation that causes this is trees remove carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Once the tree is destroyed, much of the stored unused carbon within is released
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