1. DEFORESTATION
Subject: Environmental Studies
By Kuldeepsing Babulal Patil,
F.Y. B.Tech. Chemical Technology
(Batch-2018-19, semester-2)
Roll no.-18GPT11 (651446)

2. Index
 What is Deforestation?
 Causes of Deforestation
 Effects of Deforestation
 Forest Degradation in India
 Present scenario in India
 Deforestation Dynamics
 Result of Deforestation in India
 Control of Deforestation
 Conclusion
 References

3. What is Deforestation?
Deforestation, clearance, clear-cutting or clearing is the
removal of a forest or stand of trees from land which is
then converted to a non-forest use.
 Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land
to farms, ranches, or urban use.
 The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical
rainforests.
 Forests cover 31% of the land area on our planet.
 They produce vital oxygen and provide homes for
people and wildlife.
 Many of the world’s most threatened and
endangered animals live in these forests.
 1.6 billion People rely on benefits forests offer,
including food, fresh water, clothing, traditional
medicine and shelter.
 Examples of deforestation include conversion of
forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use.

4. Causes of Deforestation
1)Shifting cultivation:-
• Most of the clearing of forest is done for agricultural purposes.
• Poor farmers cut down trees or burn it and start agriculture.
• Intensive or modern agriculture destroy the forest on a large
scale.
• It is principal cause of deforestation in some countries like
America (35%),Asia (50%) and Africa (70%).

5. 2) Commercial Logging:-
• It involves cutting trees for sale as timber or pulp.
• It employs heavy machinery to remove cut trees
and build roads.
• Logging roads enable people to access the interiors
of the forest, which in results in deforestation.
• In Africa, 75% of land being cleared by poor
farmersis land that has been previously logged.

6. 3) Mining:-
 This causes environmental impacts like erosion, formation of
sinkholes, loss of biodiversity, and contamination of soil,
groundwater and surface water by chemicals from mining processes.
 In some cases, additional forest logging is done in the vicinity of
mines to increase the available room for the storage of the created
debris and soil.
 Contamination resulting from leakage of chemicals can also affect
the health of the local population if not properly controlled.
 Extreme examples of pollution from mining activities include coal
fires, which can last for years or even decades, producing massive
amounts of environmental damage.

7. 4) Construction of Dams and Reservoirs:-
 For building big dams, large scale devastation of forests takes place
which breaks the natural ecological balance of the region.
 Floods, droughts and landslides become more prevalent in such areas.
 Forests are the repositories of invaluable gifts of nature in the form of
biodiversity and by destroying these we are going to lose these species
even before knowing them.
 These species could be having marvelous economic or medicinal value.
 These storehouses of species which have evolved over millions of years
get lost due to deforestation in a single stroke.

8. 5) Overgrazing:-
 Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for
extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods.
 It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural
applications, or by overpopulations of native or non- native wild
animals.
 Overgrazing reduces the usefulness, productivity, and biodiversity of
the land and is one cause of desertification and erosion.
 Overgrazing is also seen as a cause of the spread of invasive species
of non-native plants and of weeds.

9. 6) Increase in population:-
 The needs also increase and utilize forests resources.
 To meet the demands of rapidly growing population, agricultural
lands and settlements are created permanently by clearing forests.
7)Forest fires:-
 They may be natural or manmade, and cause huge forest loss.

10. 8) Urbanization and industrialization:-
 Since Industrialization and Urbanization needs land to grow, so
major amount of forest lands are cut in order to promote
Industrialization and Urbanization.
 This creates harmful effect on environment and forest ecological
balance.

11. Effects of Deforestation
Some of the effects of deforestation are:
1) 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 the 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.
2) 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.

12. 3) 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 losses.
 Many wonderful species 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.

13. 4) 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.
5) Economic Losses:-
Deforestation will cause loss of industrial timber and non-timber
products and loss of long term productivity on the site.

14. 6) Loss of Fertile Land:-
Less rainfall results into the loss of fertile land owing to less natural
vegetation growth.
7) Effect on Climate:-
Deforestation includes regional and global climate change. Climate
has become warmer due to the lack of humidity in deforestation
regions and also patterns of rainfall has changed. Droughts have
become common.
8) Loss of medical Plants:-
There are many species of plants, which have been used in India for
centuries as insecticide, fungicide, in medicine and in bio-fertilizers.
Deforestation may lead to the extinction of these valuable plants.
9) Environmental Changes:-
It will lead to increase in carbon dioxide concentration and
other air pollutants. This would result in Global Warming.
10) Change in living Habits:-
This may force indigenous people to live a new life which they are not
prepared. Disturbance in forest eco-system may result in other eco-
systems that may be separated by great distances.

15. Forest Degradation in India
• Depletion of forestry cover less than 90% is considered as forest
degradation and more than 90% is considered as deforestation,
according to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN.
• Logging is considered as a forest degradation and not as a
deforestation.
• In India timber is used for preparing plywood, veneer, boards, doors,
windows and other furniture.
• Wood is also used for cooking and heating.
• Population, rapid development and men’s dependency on
forest are mainly responsible for Forest Degradation.
• India has lost 3.4 million hectares of forest cover from the
period of 1951-1970.
• Nearly 1% of land is turning barren per year due to
deforestation.

16. Present scenario in India
 Due to deforestation, the forest cover of India has fallen below the
minimum recommended level.
 According to experts, forests should cover about one-third of the
total area of country. But in India forests covers around 24% of the
total area.
 Satellite pictures show that India has gained a forest area of 5,871
square kilometer during the period between 2010 and 2012.
 However, the increase in forest area is not even throughout the
country.
 In some places, forests land is being used for various development
projects like dams, industries, roads and agriculture.

17. Deforestation Dynamics
In India, several causes supported deforestation, including colonization,
agricultural expansion, firewood collection, timber harvesting and
extension of cultivation on slopes.
In the Indian Himalayas debris thrown down slopes due to reckless use
of excavator machines for widening of roads and making of new roads
has completely destroyed vast areas of Forest. Due to the colonization
from all over the country trees are cut down as a primary source of fuel.
These trees are used for cooking food and other daily needs which
require fuel.
Result of Deforestation in India
Deforestation has affected the lives of wild animals and birds
including bats.
Birds like sparrow, pigeon and crow are becoming rarer due to
deforestation.
Due to deforestation India is facing water problems in urban cities and
villages.

18. Control of Deforestation
• Reforestation:-
Many countries in the world have started reforestation and
forestry, and East Asian nations are leading in this regard.
Many East Asian countries, including China, have
successfully managed to reverse deforestation.
• Legislation :-
By making suitable changes in the law, so that cutting trees in a
forest will not only lead to deforestation being controlled in a major
way, but its flow may also be reversed.
• Wildlife Sanctuaries :-
Sanctuaries are very important, not only to save wildlife, but
to save trees as well. Sanctuaries go a long way in protecting
all wildlife.
• Commercial Forest Plantations :-
There can be special forest plantations for all the wood that is needed
for the industry. This way the wood can be cut in a controlled and
regulated environment.

19. • Cities :-
All cities, let alone new cities, have to be managed properly. Their
expansion has to be curtailed or at least done in a systematic manner,
so that there is enough green cover, and new trees are planted where
ever possible.
 Incentive to Corporate:-
Tax cuts should be granted to corporations, to get them actively
interested in reforestation.
• Water Management :-
Improper water management affects deforestation in a big way. If the
wildlife doesn't have water, then the entire ecosystem will falter. The
construction of new dams should be planned properly, so that any
one area isn't deprived of water, while another area has abundance of
it.

20. Conclusion
If we do not put an end to deforestation, all of earth’s forests will
disappear within the next 100 years.
‘‘PLANT A
TREE AND
BREATHE
OXYGEN
FOR FREE.’’

21. REFERENCES
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation_in_India
 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-
warming/deforestation/
 https://www.livescience.com/27692-deforestation.html
 https://www.importantindia.com/16100/deforestation-in-
india/
 www.slideshare.net
 https://www.toppr.com/guides/science/forest-our-
lifeline/deforestation/
 Books and references
 Internet