What are two ways that deforestation relates to global warming?

Answer 1

Forests through photosynthesis absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) and release oxygen. The timber of the trees also sequesters carbon. Deforestation means the timber may be used and eventually converted to carbon dioxide, or left to rot, which also means that it is converted to carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. Similarly the green leaves no longer act as carbon sinks to suck in CO2. Either way, deforestation contributes to the global warming process.

A:Deforestation = fewer trees

Fewer trees = more CO2

More CO2 = Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

Enhanced Greenhouse Effect = Global warming

A:Deforestation is one of the main causes of greenhouse effect because as we cut trees, the water cycle gets disturbed causing less rain and the amount of oxygen decreases while the amount of carbon dioxide increases. When the carbon dioxide increases, more heat radiated by earth is trapped on earth, making it warmer than usual, thus increasing global warming and becoming the main cause of green house effect. A:Global warming is caused by an elevation in the greenhouse gases that halo our planet. Atmospheric gases such as water vapor, CO2, methane, and ozone are responsible for impeding the loss of heat away from the Earth. The concentration of these particular gases directly dictate the universal temperature found on Earth.

The effects of global warming can be further exacerbated by deforestation because the removal of densely forested areas decreases the number of the CO2 consuming vegetation.

Photosynthetic organisms, such as plants, undergo a "carbon fixing" cycle which utilizes atmospheric carbon dioxide and synthesizes it into metabolic intermediates (such as carbohydrates). Indirectly, deforestation disrupts the delicate balance between the carbon dioxide produced and consumed. An increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide, along with other greenhouse gases, leads to an increase in the global temperature.

The issue is further worsened if these trees are used for fuel and not replaced. Forests' primary function is not to remove CO2 (that is a minor player in that process) but to be a carbon sink, or storage unit for carbon.

Total carbon intake, in terms of percentages, of forests is not high, but does contribute to the overall intake of carbon. Our Oceans are the major player in carbon absorption.

Selective cutting can actually lower an overall carbon emission, by taking wood that would otherwise rot and then use it for buildings. These buildings become a carbon sink.

The issue is balance. If man cuts and burns trees for fuel we upset that balance. If we use the wood for construction AND replace those trees we have an overall positive effect. Rotting trees also add as much CO2 as burning them does. So dead trees that are left to rot are also a problem.

Destroying forests reduces the earth's ability to absorb airborne carbon (CO2). Trees as well as water, ice etc absorb CO2 that is in the air. The fewer forests there are, the fewer green leaves there are to absorb CO2. This would lead to more CO2 in the air from man-made and natural sources. More and more is released all the time and less is reabsorbed into "contained" sources such as trees and water.

If we stop deforestation by 50%, it will stop 500 billion tons of CO2 going to the atmosphere. And since carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, it traps heat inside the atmosphere thus affecting the climate.

For simplicity:

1. When trees are burned or destroyed (for wood chips, paper etc) the CO2 they had stored escapes back into the atmosphere as greenhouse gas.
2. This also means there are fewer green plants to capture carbon.
3. Trees that are cut down and used for building or furniture retain carbon in the used timber but much of the tree is discarded and destroyed.

A:The destruction on forests impacts the global warming effect, as the trees and other vegetation in forests, absorb CO2 to use during photosynthesis. If the trees are being cut down, then less CO2 is being absorbed, essentially worsening the effect of global warming. A:Agreed above

But most people seem to forget the machinery it all produces CO2 as well as just cutting down the trees near enough everything involved in deforestation produces CO2 the humans do the machinery the trees everything.
Deforestation can influence Global warming because forests contain and store large amounts of CO2. When the forest is cleared large amounts of CO2 can be released into the atmosphere which traps heat resulting in global warming. And when the forest is cleared the trees are no longer available to remove carbon from the atmosphere.

Deforestation also results in less evapotranspiration resulting in less clouds and rainfall which also influence climate.

Answer 2

Global warming is known to be caused largely by increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide, an important greenhouse gas, in the air. This occurs from any human activity that releases carbon that has been locked up for thousands of years or even longer.

Strictly speaking, the carbon dioxide produced by deforestation is not from 'new' carbon as that from burning fossil fuels is, but comes from burning or decomposition of formerly living trees. However, forests are a long term 'sink' for carbon, thereby helping to hold down the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As long as the forest remains, there is a natural cycle of individual trees growing old, falling down and decomposing, only to be replaced by new trees that absorb as much carbon dioxide as the trees they replace. Deforestation breaks this cycle.

Permanently destroying forests releases carbon from the forest as carbon dioxide, thus adding to the greenhouse effect and to global warming.

Answer 3

Over time, climate change can impact patterns of precipitation: some places may get wetter, some places may get drier. Forests will respond to this change as some places become too dry but others become more favorable; forests will shrink away in some places and grow in others.

Answer 4

Deforestation can influence Global warming as forests contain and sequester large amounts of CO2. When the forest is cleared large amounts of CO2 can be released into the atmosphere which traps heat resulting in global warming.

Deforestation also results in less evapo-transpiration resulting in fewer clouds and less rainfall which also influences climate.

Deforestation, the removal of green cover from the surface of the earth is indirectly related to the global warming. because of the indiscriminate cutting of the trees the amount of carbon dioxide which the green plants absorb is decreases. This leads to increase in the greenhouse gases. These greenhouse gases are the ones responsible for the increase in the global warming.

A:Deforestation reduces the quantity of carbon dioxide that is fixed and is not free to go in our atmosphere. This extra carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere induces global warming and leads to climate change.

It should be noted that deforestation does not always cause large amounts of CO2 to be released. It transfers this carbon to homes and materials built with this wood. A home built with wood is also a carbon sink, even though a large percentage of the original tree is destroyed.

Answer 5

Trees act as a carbon sink. Unlike coal, when a tree dies it typically rots, releasing its CO2 back into the atmosphere. If the trees are cut down and used for construction material, and the area is reforested, overall carbon is sequestered. Trees used for construction could actually reduce carbon emissions. It is not a 1:1 ratio, because it takes fuel to haul the trees to a lumber mill and process them, and more energy to ship the finished product around and use it.

Rain forest trees tend to be slashed and burned to make room for agriculture. The grass and grain grown on this soil pulls out only a tiny fraction of the carbon originally sequestered by the forest. This difference leads to further increases in atmospheric CO2, and concomitant rises in temperature.

Answer 6

No, we humans are the cause of deforestation. We cut the forests down.

Global warming may be the cause of deforestation in the future. As temperatures rise and rainfall patterns change this may kill off some of the forests in some parts of the world.

Answer 7

1. When forests are destroyed (deforestation), the carbon stored in the trees is often returned to the atmosphere (burning, wood chipping, paper making). This increases the levels of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere.
2. When forests are destroyed the trees are no longer there to remove carbon dioxide from the air through photosynthesis, the only way we have to remove this greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.