GENERAL GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -With fewer trees around to take in the carbon dioxide, this greenhouse gas accumulates in the atmosphere and accelerates global warming. Deforestation also threatens the world’s biodiversity. Tropical forests are home to great numbers of animal and plant species.

Detailed explanation-2: -Forests serve as a carbon sink by absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. Since carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, deforestation is a direct contributor to the greenhouse effect and (consequently) global warming.

Detailed explanation-3: -The loss of trees and other vegetation can cause climate change, desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding, increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and a host of problems for Indigenous people.

Detailed explanation-4: -Deforestation exerts a warming influence by (i) adding CO2 to the atmosphere, (ii) eliminating the possible increased carbon storage in trees as a result of future CO2 fertilization, and (iii) decreasing evapotranspiration, particularly in the tropics (1–6).

Detailed explanation-5: -When forests are cut down, much of that stored carbon is released into the atmosphere again as carbon dioxide (CO2). This is how deforestation and forest degradation contribute to global warming.