Trees. The green things that we see everywhere and occasionally hug if we're weird like that. But what are they really? Because even if you don’t know it, these brown trunk, leaf shedding, pinecone holding trees are the reason we live. So why is it that the most vital plant 7.8 billion people need to live is currently in danger in many parts of the world. This doesn’t sound like a big issue, yes, we see the hundreds of trees in the forest outside your backyard, but this problem is bigger than you think.
Deforestation is the proper term that refers to the loss of trees (and conversion to non-forest use) by humans or natural causes. The impacts of deforestation are catastrophic, affecting all wildlife, environments, and the climate. According to the global forest watch, “there was a total of 60.5Mha humid primary forest lost globally, making up 16% of its total tree cover loss in the same time period. Total area of humid primary forest decreased globally by 5.9%” from 2000 to 2019.” Every day, that is 80,000 acres of trees lost, so yes, it is a big deal impacting everyone and everything.
So what is causing is this and what can we do about it? The causes of deforestation can be both natural and manmade. Natural encompasses fires, hurricanes, flooding, and parasites whereas manmade refers to agricultural expansion, timber extraction, mining and several other causes. Just a couple trees multiply to thousands, millions, and billions. This puts the animals and species that thrive and live in the trees in danger with their habitat, which harms other animals and human life. Forests as a whole “prevent floods and drought by regulating regional rainfall. And because many indigenous and forest peoples rely on tropical forests for their livelihoods, investments in reducing deforestation provide them with the resources they need for sustainable development without deforestation” as mentioned by the UCSUSA.
It's easy to see the negative consequences of deforestation. So how to solve this? Well, it doesn’t seem like much, but everyone can do their part to prevent deforestation and help the environment. Conservation of paper products and recycling are two easy ways to fix this! The most obvious way IS TO SIMPLY PLANT TREES and educate people that deforestation is a bigger problem that everyone thinks!
Here at Plantalanta trees we not only want to spread our love of trees and plants to everyone but also raise awareness to several different issues where deforestation is just one of them!
- Megan Reddy