Question

Attempt any TWO of the following: 

Define ‘deforestation’. Comment on its effects

Answer 1

Defination:
Deforestation means cutting down the trees to a large extent be it forests, any barren land or trees we see on our way to school every day.  Natural forests are being destructed to use the land for cultivation, building houses, factories, logging, making space for cattle grazing, extraction of oil, mining, construction of dams or to obtain wood for making furniture and using it as fuel.

Some of the effects of deforestation are:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Gases such as methane and carbon dioxide trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere, leading change in climate. Trees absorb the carbon dioxide and release oxygen and water into the atmosphere and this contributes to global warming. Cutting carbon dioxide adds to the environment and then this lack of the tree creates an absorption deficit. Deforestation leads to the emission of greenhouse gas.

Soil Erosion
Cutting down on trees leads to clearance of forests and so soil erosion occurs. Exposure of the soil to the sun’s heat dries up the moisture inside the soil. Nutrients evaporate and it affects the bacteria that help to break down organic matter. Due to this, rain washes the soil surfaces and erosion takes place. Large amounts of soil wash into local streams and rivers and cause damage to hydroelectric structures and irrigation infrastructure.

Biodiversity Losses
Deforestation alters land and so that many of the plants and animals do not survive. With more deforestation, the entire species can extinct. This is the ‘biodiversity loss’. Many wonderful speices of plants and animals have been lost, and many others remain endangered. As each species of an ecosystem rely upon other species, loss of one species can have far-reaching consequences for other species. We lose about 50 to 100 species of animals each day due to the destruction of their habitats. Millions of plants and animal species are on the verge of extinction due to deforestation.

Floods 
Deforestation leads to land erosion because the trees maintain the surface of the mountains The water level of the rivers increases suddenly, causing floods. When it rains, trees absorb and store a large amount of water with the help of their roots. Chopping down of trees disrupts the flow of water and leads to floods in some areas.