Deforestation is the second biggest cause of atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions after power generation.

Forests undergo ‘slash and burn’ deforestation that releases the stored carbon in the trees back into the atmosphere.  So not only is the natural ability of forests to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis being removed; but de-forestation is a major cause of global warming.  And the rate of destruction is increasing. 

Most of the deforestation is caused by man.  Some deforestation is as a result of urban development but most woodland is felled for timber or converted to arable land for crops and grazing.  Conversion removes the possibility of the natural re-generation of the forests.  However, often the poor soil quality, with the lack of water retention from the trees can lead to erosion of the land, with the land becoming unproductive and eventually becoming desert.  This in turn requires more forests to be cut down.  Deforestation can also be from natural causes - though forest fires, droughts and gradual degradation of the conditions for trees to flourish.  This too can be caused by the changing climate.

A key problem facing the world is that man is destroying trees at a faster rate than new ones are being grown.  The destruction of the tropical rainforests is much publicised.  But, climate change is also causing the destruction of forests due to droughts.  Tropical dry forests are being lost at a higher rate than the rainforests; and temperate forests in regions such as Siberia account for up to a third of the annual deforestation.  Reversing this cycle with mass re-forestation to sequester carbon emissions is one of Enviro2’s main tasks.