Pollution is certainly a major factor for climatic changes, but the destruction of significant areas of forest is another that degrades the environment profoundly and reduces biodiversity. The tropical
Rainforests attracted most attention, but tropical dry forests are being lost at a substantially higher rate. The industrialization and the extensive agriculture of the beginning of the 20th century were undeniably the start of pollution and deforestation.
I'm really sad that the newspapers all around the world focus their attention more on pollution, apparently the principal cause of changing climate, and never treat deforestation. Last year, only a few high temperatures in the world were responsible for dangerous rising wildfires deforesting great parts of dry areas in Europe and California. The rising intensity and frequency of the hurricanes in Florida are another consequence; we all remember the New Orleans catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico.
Another aspect is the flash flooding of the Danube (Europe). Scientific studies prove that planting new trees can lower the water tables and drain rivers. Shrinking forests lessen the landscape's capacity to intercept, retain, and transport precipitation.
Forests are the barrier against wind erosion and the transportation of large amounts of sand. North and Northwest China are a good example of suffering decreased evapotranspiration and the extension of the Mongolian desert by extremely hard blowing sandstorms.
The principal causes of deforestation are human-related: agriculture, livestock grazing, urban sprawl, mining, petroleum extraction, and last but not least, the forest industry (the industry of rare exotic wood species).
Forests can extract carbon dioxide and pollutants from the air and produce oxygen via photosynthesis. But it is not the only reason why forests are so important; they are also the biotope of many animals and plants in extinction danger.
Its really urgent all around the world to protect our woods and reforest large areas to increase the benefits of forests for nature and humans and preserve biodiversity.
Deforestation is compromising life on earth.
