Deforestation and climate change

File:Annual change in forest area, world map, OWID.png

{{Main|Deforestation#Causes}}

File:20210331_Global_tree_cover_loss_-_World_Resources_Institute.svg

File: Amazon slash and burn agriculture Colombia South America.jpg agriculture, Colombia]]

{{excerpt|Deforestation#Climate change}}

File:Biophysical Effects on Global Temperature From Deforestation by 10° Latitude Band.jpg

Irreversible deforestation would result in a permanent rise in the global surface temperature.{{Cite journal |last=Lewis |first=Trevor |date=1998-07-01 |title=The effect of deforestation on ground surface temperatures |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921818197000118 |journal=Global and Planetary Change |language=en |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=1–13 |doi=10.1016/S0921-8181(97)00011-8 |bibcode=1998GPC....18....1L |issn=0921-8181|url-access=subscription }} Moreover, it suggests that standing tropical forests help cool the average global temperature by more than {{convert|1|C-change|F-change|1|disp=or}}.{{cite journal |last1=Lawrence |first1=Deborah |last2=Coe |first2=Michael |last3=Walker |first3=Wayne |last4=Verchot |first4=Louis |last5=Vandecar |first5=Karen |date=2022 |title=The Unseen Effects of Deforestation: Biophysical Effects on Climate |journal=Frontiers in Forests and Global Change |volume=5 |bibcode=2022FrFGC...5.6115L |doi=10.3389/ffgc.2022.756115 |issn=2624-893X |doi-access=free}}{{cite news |title=Forests help reduce global warming in more ways than one |url=https://www.sciencenews.org/article/forest-trees-reduce-global-warming-climate-cooling-carbon |access-date=19 April 2022 |work=Science News |date=24 March 2022}}

Deforestation of tropical forests may risk triggering tipping points in the climate system and of forest ecosystem collapse which would also have effects on climate change.{{cite journal |last1=Boulton |first1=Chris A. |last2=Lenton |first2=Timothy M. |last3=Boers |first3=Niklas |title=Pronounced loss of Amazon rainforest resilience since the early 2000s |journal=Nature Climate Change |date=March 2022 |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=271–278 |doi=10.1038/s41558-022-01287-8 |bibcode=2022NatCC..12..271B |s2cid=247255222 |language=en |issn=1758-6798|doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Walker |first1=Robert Toovey |title=Collision Course: Development Pushes Amazonia Toward Its Tipping Point |journal=Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development |date=2 January 2021 |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=15–25 |doi=10.1080/00139157.2021.1842711 |s2cid=229372234 |issn=0013-9157|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021ESPSD..63a..15W }}{{cite journal |last1=Cooper |first1=Gregory S. |last2=Willcock |first2=Simon |last3=Dearing |first3=John A. |title=Regime shifts occur disproportionately faster in larger ecosystems |journal=Nature Communications |date=10 March 2020 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=1175 |doi=10.1038/s41467-020-15029-x |pmid=32157098 |pmc=7064493 |bibcode=2020NatCo..11.1175C |language=en |issn=2041-1723}}{{cite journal |last1=Lovejoy |first1=Thomas E. |last2=Nobre |first2=Carlos |title=Amazon tipping point: Last chance for action |journal=Science Advances |date=20 December 2019 |volume=5 |issue=12 |pages=eaba2949 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aba2949 |pmid=32064324 |pmc=6989302 |bibcode=2019SciA....5A2949L |issn=2375-2548}}

Several studies since the early 1990s{{cite journal |last1=Bonan |first1=Gordon B. |last2=Pollard |first2=David |last3=Thompson |first3=Starley L. |year=1992 |title=Effects of boreal forest vegetation on global climate |journal=Nature |volume=359 |issue=6397 |pages=716–718|doi=10.1038/359716a0 |bibcode=1992Natur.359..716B }} have shown that large-scale deforestation north of 50°N leads to overall net global cooling{{cite journal |last1=Bauer |first1=Eva |last2=Claussen |first2=Martin |last3=Brovkin |first3=Victor |last4=Hünerbein |first4=Anja |year=2003 |title=Assessing climate forcings of the Earth system for the past millennium |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |location=Potsdam |publisher=Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research |volume=30 |issue=6|page=1276 |doi=10.1029/2002GL016639 |bibcode=2003GeoRL..30.1276B }} while tropical deforestation produces substantial warming. Carbon-centric metrics are inadequate because biophysical mechanisms other than {{CO2}} impacts are important, especially the much higher albedo of bare high-latitude ground vis-à-vis intact forest.

Deforestation, particularly in large swaths of the Amazon, where nearly 20% of the rainforest has been clear cut, has climactic effects and effects on water sources as well as on the soil.{{Cite journal |last1=Morton |first1=D. C. |last2=DeFries |first2=R. S. |last3=Shimabukuro |first3=Y. E. |last4=Anderson |first4=L. O. |last5=Arai |first5=E. |last6=del Bon Espirito-Santo |first6=F. |last7=Freitas |first7=R. |last8=Morisette |first8=J. |date=2006-09-14 |title=Cropland expansion changes deforestation dynamics in the southern Brazilian Amazon |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=103 |issue=39 |pages=14637–14641 |bibcode=2006PNAS..10314637M |doi=10.1073/pnas.0606377103 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=1600012 |pmid=16973742 |doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal |last1=Macedo |first1=Marcia N. |last2=DeFries |first2=Ruth S. |last3=Morton |first3=Douglas C. |last4=Stickler |first4=Claudia M. |last5=Galford |first5=Gillian L. |last6=Shimabukuro |first6=Yosio E. |date=2012-01-24 |title=Decoupling of deforestation and soy production in the southern Amazon during the late 2000s |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=109 |issue=4 |pages=1341–1346 |bibcode=2012PNAS..109.1341M |doi=10.1073/pnas.1111374109 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=3268292 |pmid=22232692 |doi-access=free}} Moreover, the type of land usage after deforestation also produces varied results. When deforested land is converted to pasture land for livestock grazing it has a greater effect on the ecosystem than forest to cropland conversions.{{Cite journal |last1=Silvério |first1=Divino V. |last2=Brando |first2=Paulo M. |last3=Macedo |first3=Marcia N. |last4=Beck |first4=Pieter S. A. |last5=Bustamante |first5=Mercedes |last6=Coe |first6=Michael T. |date=October 2015 |title=Agricultural expansion dominates climate changes in southeastern Amazonia: the overlooked non-GHG forcing |journal=Environmental Research Letters |language=en |volume=10 |issue=10 |pages=104015 |doi=10.1088/1748-9326/10/10/104015 |issn=1748-9326 |doi-access=free}} Other effect of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest is seen through the greater amount of carbon dioxide emission. The Amazon rainforest absorbs one-fourth of the carbon dioxide emissions on Earth, however, the amount of {{CO2}} absorbed today decreases by 30% than it was in the 1990s due to deforestation.{{Cite web |title=Amazon Deforestation and Climate Change |url=https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/amazon-deforestation-and-climate-change |access-date=2023-04-29 |website=education.nationalgeographic.org |language=en}}

Modeling studies have concluded that there are two crucial moments that can lead to devastating effects in the Amazon rainforest which are increase in temperature by {{convert|4|C-change|F-change|1|disp=or}} and deforestation reaching a level of 40%.{{Cite journal |last1=Nobre |first1=Carlos A. |last2=Sampaio |first2=Gilvan |last3=Borma |first3=Laura S. |last4=Castilla-Rubio |first4=Juan Carlos |last5=Silva |first5=José S. |last6=Cardoso |first6=Manoel |date=2016-09-27 |title=Land-use and climate change risks in the Amazon and the need of a novel sustainable development paradigm |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=113 |issue=39 |pages=10759–10768 |bibcode=2016PNAS..11310759N |doi=10.1073/pnas.1605516113 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=5047175 |pmid=27638214 |doi-access=free}}

{{Main|Wildfire}}

Statistics have shown that there is a direct correlation between forest fires and deforestation. Statistics regarding the Brazilian Amazon area during the early 2000s have shown that fires and the air pollution that accompanies these fires mirror the patterns of deforestation and "high deforestation rates led to frequent fires".{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Elizabeth |date=2021-08-27 |title=Amazon Deforestation and Fires are a Hazard to Public Health |url=http://eos.org/research-spotlights/amazon-deforestation-and-fires-are-a-hazard-to-public-health |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=Eos |language=en-US}}

The Amazon rainforest has recently experienced fires that occurred inside the forest when wildfires tend to occur on the outer edges of the forest. Wetlands have faced an increase in forest fires as well. Due to the change in temperature, the climate around forests have become warm and dry, conditions that allow forest fires to occur.

Under unmitigated climate change, by the end of the century, 21% of the Amazon would be vulnerable to post‐fire grass invasion. In 3% of the Amazon, fire return intervals are already shorter than the time required for grass exclusion by canopy recovery, implying a high risk of irreversible shifts to a fire‐maintained degraded forest grassy state. The south‐eastern region of the Amazon is currently at highest risk of irreversible degradation.{{cite journal |last1=Bruno |first1=De Faria |last2=Arie |first2=Staal |last3=Carlos |first3=Silva |last4=Philip |first4=Martin |last5=Prajjwal |first5=Panday |last6=Vinicius |first6=Dantas |last7=Thiago |first7=Silva |title=Climate change and deforestation increase the vulnerability of Amazonian forests to post-fire grass invasion |journal=Global Ecology & Biogeography |date=December 2021 |volume=30 |issue=12 |issn=1466-822X |pages=2368–2381 |doi=10.1111/geb.13388|bibcode=2021GloEB..30.2368D |hdl=1874/413027 |s2cid=240535503 |hdl-access=free }}

According to a study in tropical peatland forest of Borneo, deforestation also contributes to the increase in fire risk.{{cite journal |last1=Davies-Barnard |first1=Taraka |date=Jan 24, 2023 |title=Future fire risk under climate change and deforestation scenarios in tropical Borneo |journal= Environmental Research Letters|volume=18 |issue=2 |page=024015 |bibcode=2023ERL....18b4015D |doi=10.1088/1748-9326/acb225 |s2cid=255904967 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10871/132357}}

{{Further|Carbon dioxide removal}}

{{excerpt|Carbon sequestration#Forestry|file=no}}

{{excerpt|Carbon offsets and credits#Concerns with forestry projects}}

{{See|Flying river}}

As a consequence of reduced evapotranspiration, precipitation is also reduced. This implies having a hotter and drier climate, and a longer dry season.{{Cite web |last=Rebecca |first=Lindsey |date=2007-03-30 |title=Tropical Deforestation: Feature Articles |url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Deforestation/deforestation_update2.php |access-date=2018-02-09 |website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last1=Shukla |first1=J. |last2=Nobre |first2=C. |last3=Sellers |first3=P. |date=1990-03-16 |title=Amazon Deforestation and Climate Change |journal=Science |language=en |volume=247 |issue=4948 |pages=1322–1325 |bibcode=1990Sci...247.1322S |doi=10.1126/science.247.4948.1322 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=17843795 |s2cid=8361418 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10535/2838}} This change in climate has drastic ecological and global impacts including increases in severity and frequency of fires, and disruption in the pollination process that will likely spread beyond the area of deforestation.

According to a study published in 2023, tropical deforestation has led to a significant decrease in the amount of observed precipitation.{{Cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=C. |last2=Baker |first2=J. C. A. |last3=Spracklen |first3=D. V. |date=March 2023 |title=Tropical deforestation causes large reductions in observed precipitation |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=615 |issue=7951 |pages=270–275 |bibcode=2023Natur.615..270S |doi=10.1038/s41586-022-05690-1 |issn=1476-4687 |pmc=9995269 |pmid=36859548 |s2cid=257281871}} By the year 2100, researchers anticipate that deforestation in the Congo will diminish regional precipitation levels by up to 8-10%.

Deforestation changes the landscape and reflectivity of earth's surface, i.e. decreasing Albedo. This results in an increase in the absorption of light energy from the sun in the form of heat, enhancing global warming.Malhi, Y., et al. "Climate Change, Deforestation, and the Fate of the Amazon." Science, vol. 319, no. 5860, 11 January 2008, pp. 169–172., {{doi|10.1126/science.1146961}}.

{{Main|Deforestation#Control}}

File:Sugarcane Deforestation, Bolivia, 2016-06-15 by Planet Labs.jpg]]

{{excerpt|REDD and REDD+|file=no}}

File:Scioto Grove - Reforestation Area 1.jpg area]]The Bali Action Plan was developed in December 2007 in Bali, Indonesia.{{Cite web |title=Climate Change: The Kyoto Protocol, Bali "Action Plan," and International Actions |url=https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL33826.html |access-date=2022-02-26 |website=www.everycrsreport.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Bali Road Map Intro |url=https://unfccc.int/process/conferences/the-big-picture/milestones/bali-road-map |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=unfccc.int}} It is a direct result of the Kyoto Protocol of December 1997.{{Cite web|url=https://unfccc.int/|title=United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change}}{{Cite journal |last=Singh |first=P |date=August 2008 |title=Exploring biodiversity and climate change benefits of community-based forest management |journal=Global Environmental Change |language=en |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=468–478 |doi=10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.04.006|bibcode=2008GEC....18..468S }} One of the key elements of The Bali Action Plan involves a concerted effort by the member countries of the Kyoto Protocol to enact and create policy approaches that incentivize emissions reduction caused by deforestation and forest degradation in the developing world.{{Cite web |title=International Deforestation and Climate Change |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-110shrg45735/html/CHRG-110shrg45735.htm |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=www.govinfo.gov}} It emphasized the importance of sustainable forest management and conservation practices in mitigating climate change. This coupled with the increased attention to carbon emission stocks as a way to provide additional resource flows to the developing countries.

{{main|Trillion Tree Campaign}}

File: Afforestation at Kanakakunnu.jpg at Kanakakunnu]]

The Billion Tree Campaign was launched in 2006 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as a response to the challenges of climate change, as well as to a wider array of sustainability challenges, from water supply to biodiversity loss.{{cite web |title=Commit to Action - Join the Billion Tree Campaign! |url=http://www.plant-for-the-planet-billiontreecampaign.org/About.aspx |website=UNEP |publisher=United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) |access-date=22 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215181645/http://www.plant-for-the-planet-billiontreecampaign.org/About.aspx |archive-date=15 December 2014 }} Its initial target was the planting of one billion trees in 2007. Only one year later in 2008, the campaign's objective was raised to 7 billion trees—a target to be met by the climate change conference that was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009. Three months before the conference, the 7 billion planted trees mark had been surpassed. In December 2011, after more than 12 billion trees had been planted, UNEP formally handed management of the program over to the not-for-profit Plant-for-the-Planet initiative, based in Munich, Germany.{{cite press release |title=UNEP Billion Tree Campaign Hands Over to the Young People of the Plant-for-the-Planet Foundation |url=http://www.unep.org/newscentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2661&ArticleID=8978 |date=7 December 2011 |access-date=20 October 2022 |publisher=UN Environment Programme |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227121606/http://www.unep.org/newscentre/Default.aspx?ArticleID=8978&DocumentID=2661&l=en |archive-date=27 December 2011 |url-status=dead}}{{cbignore}}

File: Deforestation Rates in the Amazon.png]]

{{excerpt|Amazon Fund|file=no}}

• {{annotated link|Land use, land-use change, and forestry}}
• {{annotated link|Special Report on Climate Change and Land}}
• {{annotated link|Boreal forest of Canada}}
• {{annotated link|Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation}}
• {{annotated link|Natural Forest Standard}}

{{Reflist|25em}}

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{{Deforestation}}

{{Deforestation and desertification}}

{{Anthropogenic effects on the environment}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deforestation and climate change}}

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