Deforestation: Causes, Impacts and conservation

 What Is Deforestation?

    Deforestation refers to cutting down of trees in forests caused by natural events or human activities. The two main causes of deforestation are: 

• Natural causes
• Human activities

Natural Causes:

    Sometimes nature can cause deforestation. These

causes include:

Disease:

    Viruses and bacteria attack plants for nutrition. They live as parasites, weakening the plant's immune system. Chlorosis is common condition in plants in which leaves lack chlorophyll and become yellow. A fungus parasite Puccinia destroy plants.

Volcanic eruption:

    Volcanic eruptions occur due to tectonic plates movements or magma pressure, which can beak the rocks of a volcano. When magma expand from a volcano and it flows towards a rainforest, it destroys large areas of forest. The temperature of magma is approximately 490°C to 1600°C. In 1999, magma destroyed a large part of Virgin rainforest in Cameroon. Tectonic plates also causes earthquakes, which destabilize plant root and destroy trees.

Lighting strikes:

    Lightning strike occur when there is potential difference between charges. A lightning strike happen when cloud is negatively charged and ground has positive charge. This causes electric discharge and strikes to ground. It produce fire and convert forest into ash.

Insects:

   Due to climate change and other things predator of insects are small in number, lead to increase in population of insects. Insects damage plants for their nutrition. For example larva eat leaves and destroy whole plant.

Human activities:

    The major cause of reduction of trees and plants from forests is human activities. Humans cut trees for their economic benefits.

Construction:

     Wood is a major component for construct building and houses due to its flexibility, resistant to heat and electric current. Wood is used for doors, windows frames and furniture.

Agriculture:

     A large area of forest is cut for crops and farms. Shortage of area for crops lead to reduction of trees. Approximately 90% forest are cut for agriculture.

Urbanization:

    It is common cause of deforestation. Urbanization driven by population growth often results in deforestation as forests are cleared to create space for housing and infrastructure development.

 Energy production:

    Plants are natural and source of oil and used as a primary source of energy. Also burning of wood produce heat, generally used for energy in industries and domestic purposes.

Importance of forests:

    Forests are very important for nature and the ecosystem. Some key points for importance of plants are:

• Plants are directly or indirectly source of medicine and drugs.
• Forest are houses of wild animals. Birds make their nest in trees.
• Plants maintain temperature and nutrient cycle.
• It stable biodiversity.
• Plants absorb pollutant from air.
• Plants are production houses of oxygen.
• They causes rainfall through a complex cycle of transpiration.
• Plants are source of nutrition for all other organisms, as they are base of food chain.
• Due to production of timber forest has large importance in economy.

Effects of deforestation:

    Deforestation has negative impact on environment. Some impacts are:

• Deforestation is a major cause of loss in biodiversity.
• Uproot of plant convert fertile land into barren land.
• Deforestation reduces the process of evapotranspiration, which can lower atmospheric moisture and lead to decreased rainfall.
• Deforestation generally  has effect on stability of temperature effect.
• Deficiency of habitat is also a problem due to deforestation.
• It also disturbs the nutrient cycle.

Conservation of forests:

    Deforestation is very bad for our environment. It is necessary to protect forests. Some techniques are used in conservation of forests.

•  Grow new plants and forests.
• Promote programs for awareness of negative impacts of deforestation.
• Reduce the use of wood.