what are the causes of deforestation ?

Deforestation is caused by humans and natural changes on earth. 

On the natural side, as the tectonic plates have moved, mountains form and erode, rainfall patterns change, and forests respond to these changes over long periods of time. If a place was wet and warm enough for one type of tree, but the climate changed, such as during an Ice Age, those trees might not be able to continue to live in that place. Another tree might fare better, or none at all. 

Humans, termites, woodpeckers, forest fires, wood rot, fungus, competition with other plant life for sunlight, erosion, mudslides, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, floods, and natural life cycles. 


Human causes of deforestation mainly include

  • cutting trees for using the wood, called timber harvesting or logging, and 
  • clearing forests to make way for agriculture of plants and/or animals. 
  • Forests may be cut down to make room for expanding cities, too.
  • When people need to expand their space they tear down unused places, rip up trees from their homes, kill animals' habitats, and not even use the wood. 
  • building new roads, cattle ranching etc.
  • Urban sprawl
  • logging 
  • mining 
  • infrastructure 
  • plantation - crops 
  • wood or timber 
  • urbanization 
  • cultivation 
  • the reason behind is the metro cities are becoming bigger and bigger day by day. the people from villages are coming to big cities because they are not getting the facilities in the villages which they need. so to make houses the trees are been cutting down, so to make houses, malls, cinemas etc. for the people.


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Cause of Deforestation

1) Population explosion

Large areas of forests have been cleaned for agriculture, factories, road and rail tracks, industries, mining and quarrying have seriously affected the forest.

2) Fires

Forest fires destroy trees, seeds and the animal life.

3) Pests

Many kinds of insect pests destroy forests by eating the shoots and spreading diseases.

4) Grazing and gnawing mammals

These animal seat, trample the young plants, and damage their trunks and roots.

5) Weather

Storm and snow damage the forests. These natural forces are beyond human power to control.

6) Dams

Barriers constructed across rivers to prevent floods submerge and kill large tracts of forests.

7) Jhuming (Shifting cultivation)

In certain parts of India, forests are burnt and the ash is mixed with the soil and the land used for cultivation.

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