Deforestation

Question 1

What percentage of the Earth’s surface is covered by forests, and what percentage of these forests are natural?

Answer 1

Forests cover 30% of the Earth’s surface, but only 15% are natural.

Question 2

How many football fields are deforested each minute worldwide?

Answer 2

Approximately 36 football fields are deforested every minute across the world.

Question 3

What are the primary reasons for deforestation, and which industries contribute to 50% of it?

Answer 3

50% of all deforestation is for soy, palm oil, beef, and paper production.

Question 4

What are some techniques used in deforestation?

Answer 4

Techniques include slash and burn, clear-cutting, logging, and grassland conversion.

Question 5

What are the impacts of deforestation on the carbon cycle?

Answer 5

Deforestation results in a reduction in soil storage and biomass, an increase in combustion flux, and a reduction in CO2 intake.

Question 6

What are the impacts of deforestation on the water cycle?

Answer 6

Deforestation leads to a reduction in interception, changes in infiltration, increased raindrop erosion and surface runoff, and increased aridity downwind from the loss of evapotranspiration.