Deforestation is a practice related to human occupation since the first forms of sedentary groups. Agricultural activity, a basic condition for the development of any type of society, depends on the removal of native forest and the intensive use of soil. After the Great Navigations, the European occupation in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania was fundamentally predatory and only did not carry out an even greater extermination of forested areas because there were a series of limitations techniques.
The scale of deforestation greatly increased after the rise of industrial societies. In Europe, even in the 18th century, the urban-industrial expansion associated with the use of mineral coal was considered the main responsible for the reduction of the continent's forests. The pollution formed by acid rain and the need to populate the interior areas made Europe the continent that most devastated its original forests. There are some sparse areas full of secondary formations, that is, types of vegetation that occur in stages of regeneration of plant species, such as maquis and garrigues in Europe Mediterranean.
In underdeveloped countries with a predominantly tropical climate, forests began to be removed for the extraction of wood, spices and, later, for large-scale production, as tropical monocultures required large extensions of their plantations in order to meet the demands external. Agro-export carried out through the plantations still represents the pillar of the economy of underdeveloped countries and even in emerging countries like Brazil, where soy agribusiness and iron ore exports account for approximately 25% of the value of our exports.
The international organization UNEP – acronym for the United Nations Environment Program – describes that forests cover 31% of the Earth's surface and are home to 80% of the planet's biodiversity.
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Primary forests, which have not yet suffered anthropic action, account for 36% of total forested areas. According to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), the most devastated Brazilian native forest is the Atlantic Forest (88% of the original cover destroyed). Then come the Caatinga and Pampa (54%), the Cerrado (49%), the Amazon (20%) and the Pantanal (15%).
In 2011, the United Nations organized the International Year of Forests. A report presented by the institution pointed the Atlantic Forest as the fifth most threatened forest in the world. The forests of India and Myanmar appear in first place, leaving only 5% of the original cover. In Oceania, an area in New Zealand also has 5% original coverage preserved. In a critical situation, with 7% remaining, are an area in the Philippines and another located between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
The destruction of forests leads to loss of biodiversity and habitat for many species. In the context of global climate change, 20% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions2 are caused by deforestation. Its effects also determine changes in the hydrological cycle, rainfall formation and the characteristics of a microclimate. Without the roots to absorb rainwater, unprotected soils are more susceptible to erosion processes and on a larger scale can lead to desertification. Water loses its infiltration capacity and ceases to supply groundwater, increasing the speed of surface runoff and potentially causing siltation of rivers and floods.
Julio César Lázaro da Silva
Brazil School Collaborator
Graduated in Geography from Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP
Master in Human Geography from Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SILVA, Julius César Lázaro da. "Destruction of Forests"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/destruicao-de-florestas.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
