What are the major impacts of mass deforestation and forest loss? But by studying how forests have changed over time, theres good reason to think that a way forward is possible. Forest loss measures the net change in forest cover: the loss in forests due to deforestation plus any expansion of forest through afforestation.6. When citing this topic page, please also cite the underlying data sources. Global deforestation peaked in the 1980s. After long periods of forest clearance in the past, most of todays richest countries are increasing tree cover through afforestation. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020: Main report. Mather, A. S., Fairbairn, J., & Needle, C. L. (1999). Today, only 4 billion hectares are left. Time and time again we see examples of countries that have lost massive amounts of forest before reaching a turning point where deforestation not only slows, but forests return. Why? By Georgina Rannard. What explains this? Countries that lie along this line would have a net-neutral impact on global forests: the area they are causing to deforestation overseas is exactly as large as the area they are regrowing at home. Its the foods and products we buy, not where we live, that has the biggest impact on global land use. By Georgina Rannard. From this understanding we can define five reasons why we lose forests: Thanks to satellite imagery, we can get a birds-eye view of what these drivers look like from above. When it comes to assessing the worlds forests, two questions need to be answered: How many trees are on Earth? and. How many trees are cut down each year? It feeds into the popular idea that eating local is one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint. The history of deforestation is a tragic one, in which we not only lost these wild and beautiful landscapes but also the wildlife within them. 95% of the worlds deforestation occurs in the tropics [we look at this breakdown again later]. In most rich countries, across Europe, North America and East Asia, forest cover is increasing, whilst in many low-to-middle income countries its decreasing. Imagine over 100 large harvesters working non-stop. 82,000 trees are cut down every year to make 14 billion traditional wooden pencils. Thats equivalent to the area of South Africa. To put this in perspective, that would be around one-sixth of the total carbon footprint of the average EU diet.36. How many trees are chopped down for Christmas? The bar chart just below shows the earths surface cover just after the end of the last ice age.3 10,000 years ago 57% of the worlds habitable land was covered by forest. Web3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are cut down per year. To investigate this question, researchers Florence Pendrill et al. That is why we should be focusing on tropical deforestation. And its not just in forests eitherits also happening on farms, in cities, and on private property. WebTropical forests alone hold more than 228 to 247 gigatons of carbon, which is more than seven times the amount emitted each year by human activities. How Many Trees are Cut down for Paper Each Year . This interactive map shows deforestation rates across the world. Given the current estimate of the total tree cover on the planet, that could equate to about 0.11% of trees being cut each year. Lets take an example. This number comes from the World Bank, which estimates that there are 3 trillion trees on the planet. Mather, A. S. (2004). How many trees are lost to deforestation each year? An area the size of the United States. Noriko Hosonuma et al. As we explore in more detail in our related article, countries tend to follow a predictable development in forest cover, a U-shaped curve.9 They lose forests as populations grow and demand for agricultural land and fuel increases, but eventually they reach the so-called forest transition point where they begin to regrow more forests than they lose. are added every year. It also estimates that 46% of the worlds trees have been cleared over the past 12,000 years. Imagine over 100 large harvesters working non-stop. The latter will experience short-term environmental impacts, but will ultimately regrow. [2] Only 36% of the world's rainforests remain intact. The remaining 73% came from the three drivers of forest degradation: logging of forestry products from plantations (26%); shifting, local agriculture (24%); and wildfires (23%). They first lose lots of forest, but reach a turning point and begin to regain it again. A note on UN FAO forestry data Data on net forest change, afforestation and deforestation is sourced from the UN Food and Agriculture Organizations Forest Resources Assessment. The average across the EU was 0.3 tonnes CO2 per person. We see this in the chart. This map shows the net change in forest cover across the world. But there are real reasons to believe that this century doesnt have to replicate the destruction of the last one. The United Nations, as well as experts at the World Wildlife Fund and Global Forest Watch, found that one million animals are in danger of extinction as a result of how much deforestation has occurred. In the chart here we see the breakdown of deforestation emissions by product for each consumer country. Environmental Research Letters, 7(4), 044009. But then the trend turned, and it moved from deforestation to reforestation. The research says 15.3 billion trees are chopped down every year. International trade is important for socioeconomic development. How many trees does IKEA cut down a These countries might have high levels of afforestation at home, but theyre still having a net negative impact on the size of the worlds forests. Deforestation is the complete removal of trees for the conversion of forest to another land use such as agriculture, mining, or towns and cities. Anthropogenic Biomes: 10,000 BCE to 2015 CE. The 11-month balance shows that 1,539,970 trees were cut down each day, which means 1,059 trees per minute or almost 18 trees per second. Some countries within this group are still far behind peak deforestation: without concerted effort to protect these forests it could be many decades before forests in those countries approach the transition point [as we show in a related post].10. Science, 361(6407), 1108-1111. Cuaresma, J. C., Danylo, O., Fritz, S., McCallum, I., Obersteiner, M., See, L., & Walsh, B. As of 2020, the UN estimates the planet is losing over 7,000,000 hectares per year to deforestation.27Between 1990 and 2015, the world lost 129 million hectares of forest an area about the size of South Africa.11 Natural forests lost by continent9include: Africa 3.2 million hectares The United States is the worlds largest consumer (and second largest producer, after Canada) of forest products. How much deforestation happens every day? Data on net forest change, afforestation and deforestation is sourced from the UN Food and Agriculture Organizations Forest Resources Assessment. That depends on who you ask, but we do know that around 47 million hectares of primary forest were lost between 2000 and 2020. Since there is often year-to-year variability in deforestation or reforestation rates, this is shown as the five-year average. Rural Sociology, 63(4), 533-552. Africas emissions are high because people are clearing forests to produce more food. Degradation drivers, including logging and especially wildfires can definitely have major impacts on forest health: animal populations decline, trees can die, and CO2 is emitted. The breakdown of deforestation by region is shown in the chart. This shifting agriculture category can be difficult to allocate between deforestation and degradation: it often requires close monitoring over time to understand how permanent these agricultural practices are. Deforestation and forest degradation are responsible for around 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Loss of Biodiversity: Forests are the only liveable habitat for a variety of species around the globe many of which have not even have been discovered. But we also need to know what products are driving this. Another way that richer countries can contribute is by investing in technologies such as improved seed varieties, fertilizers and agricultural practices that allow farmers to increase yields. Without reliable metrics that capture all of these differences, we will have to stick with total changes in forest area for now. and an argument for why deforestation is worse than degradation. Approximately 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are being cut each year according to a report referenced on the Rainforest Action Networks website (RAN) and other publications. High-income countries were the largest importers of deforestation, accounting for 40% of it. It also estimates that 46% of the worlds trees have been cleared over the past 12,000 years. If we sum countries imported deforestation by World Bank income group, we find that high-income countries were responsible for 40% of imported deforestation; upper-middle income for 25%; lower-middle income for 20%; and low income for 5%. Data on the annual change in domestic forests is sourced from the UN FAOs Forest Resources Assessment. According to the Environmental Paper Network, an estimated 30% of felled trees are used for paper products. Stage 3 The Late Transition phase is when deforestation rates start to slow down again. Most of todays richest countries all of Europe, North America, Japan, South Korea have passed the turning point and are now regaining forest. Several studies have assessed the stage of countries across the world.17 The most recent analysis to date was published by Florence Pendrill and colleagues (2019) which looked at each countrys stage in the transition, the drivers of deforestation but also the role of international trade.18 To do this, they used the standard metrics discussed in our theory of forest transitions earlier: the share of land that is forested, and the annual change in forest cover. Because people are starting to see how climate change affects trees. As to the number of trees this represents, its impossible to get an accurate count. Since 2016, an average of 28 million hectares have been cut down every year. The change is temporary. I have therefore excluded these categories so we can focus on how habitable land is used. Thats an area the size of the United Kingdom. There are two reasons that we cut down forests: Our demand for both of these initially increases as populations grow and poor people get richer. (2018), published in Science.20, Commodity-driven deforestation and urbanization are deforestation: the forested land is completely cleared and converted into another land use a farm, mining site, or city. Brazil, for example, went through a period of very rapid deforestation in the 1980s and 90s (its early transition phase) but its losses have slowed, meaning it is now in the late transition. How Many Trees are Cut down for Paper Each Year . Each year, an estimated 15 billion trees are cut down around the world. This is very close to our estimate of a one-third loss. Its domestic demand, not international trade, that is the main driver of deforestation. Some interesting facts state that every second, 1.5 acres of wood are cut down, According to CNN, each year over 1,000 plants and animal species go extinct due to deforestation and subsequent habitat loss. Nearly half (47%) of France was forested 1000 years ago; today thats just under one-third (31.4%). Approximately 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are being cut each year according to a report referenced on the Rainforest Action Networks website (RAN) and other publications. Environmental Research Letters, 14(5), 055003. A note on UN FAO forestry data Data on net forest change, afforestation and deforestation is sourced from the UN Food and Agriculture Organizations Forest Resources Assessment. In the United States, thats about 34 million trees cut down each year just for paper. 38. The researchs results are Stage 2 The Early Transition phase is when countries start to lose forests very rapidly. Forest transitions: towards a global understanding of land use change. The rate of deforestation is declining, but we still lost forests at a whopping 10 million hectares per year between 2015-2020. Across the US and Europe the breakdown of products is more varied. An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation drivers in developing countries. Lets start at the top. See the distribution of global forests and which countries have the most forest cover. This number comes from the World Bank, which estimates that there are 3 trillion trees on the planet. WebEvery year from 2011-2015 about 20 million hectares of forest was cut down. On balance, it would still have a positive impact on the size of global forests; its net contribution would be increasing forest area by 25,000 hectares.32 However, this country might still be causing more damage than this for a couple of reasons. That means that each year, one percent of all trees are being destroyed. People cut down 15 billion trees each year and the global tree count has fallen by 46% since the beginning of human civilization. 71% of this is driven by demand in domestic markets, and the remaining 29% for the production of products that are traded. Historical data pre-1990 is sourced from Michael Williams book, Deforesting the Earth: from prehistory to global crisis. Instead of using wood for fuel we switch to fossil fuels, or hopefully, more renewables and nuclear energy. It also estimates that 46% of the worlds trees have been cleared over the past 12,000 years. What activities are driving this? Increasing human dominance of tropical forests. Given the current estimate of the total tree cover on the planet, that could equate to about 0.11% of trees being cut each year. A study published on September 2, 2015 in the journal Nature suggests these answers: 3 trillion and 15.3 billion. 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