And its not just in forests eitherits also happening on farms, in cities, and on private property. The bar chart just below shows the earths surface cover just after the end of the last ice age.3 10,000 years ago 57% of the worlds habitable land was covered by forest. Healthy environment: One hundred mature trees catch about 139,000 gallons of rainwater per year. From the 1920s through to the 1980s, decadal losses quadrupled to almost 120 million hectares. The rate of forest loss changed a lot. It also estimates that 46% of the worlds trees have been cleared over the past 12,000 years. First, it reiterates that deforestation is not a new problem: relatively small populations of the past were capable of driving a large amount of forest loss. From 1850 to 1920, losses were around 50% higher at 30 million hectares per decade thats like losing a forested area the size of Italy every 10 years. (2012).Hosonuma, N., Herold, M., De Sy, V., De Fries, R. S., Brockhaus, M., Verchot, L., & Romijn, E. (2012). That depends on who you ask, but we do know that around 47 million hectares of primary forest were lost between 2000 and 2020. But international markets alone cannot fix this problem. A future with more people and more forest is possible. If we sum countries imported deforestation by World Bank income group, we find that high-income countries were responsible for 40% of imported deforestation; upper-middle income for 25%; lower-middle income for 20%; and low income for 5%. The world has lost one-third of its forests, but an end of deforestation is possible. The annual change is now positive. They should keep their domestic reforestation targets in perspective with their net impact on global forests. According to CNN, each year over 1,000 plants and animal species go extinct due to deforestation and subsequent habitat loss. Net forest loss is not the same as deforestation it measures deforestation plus any gains in forest over a given period. The UK imported 34,000 hectares of deforestation but increased its domestic forests by only 19,000 hectares. Imagine over 100 large harvesters working non-stop. The research says 15.3 billion trees are chopped down every year. This explains historical trends we see for countries across the world today. But then the trend turned, and it moved from deforestation to reforestation. Then things started to speed up. But most emissions are driven by domestic markets this means policies in the major producer countries will be key to tackling this problem. It breaks the change in forests into four stages, explained by two variables: the amount of forest cover a region has, and the annual change in cover (how quickly it is losing or gaining forest).15. Hosonuma et al. There is a marked divide in the state of the worlds forests. But distilling changes to this single metric tree or forest loss comes with its own issues. International trade plays an important role in this growth, and may allow farmers to see the yield gains they need to produce more food using less land. Thats one football field of forest lost every single second around the clock. Forest Transitions: why do we lose then regain forests? By the mid-18th century, only 4% of the country was forested. But the magnitude of these impacts are often less than the complete conversion of forest. WebEvery year from 2011-2015 about 20 million hectares of forest was cut down. The breakdown of forest loss globally, and by region, is shown in the chart.22. Then things started to speed up. Historical data pre-1990 is sourced from Michael Williams book, Deforesting the Earth: from prehistory to global crisis. Imagine over 100 large harvesters working non-stop. It feeds into the popular idea that eating local is one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint. But forest cover increases through reforestation. Humans have already destroyed around 46% of the trees on Earth. Countries that lie along this line would have a net-neutral impact on global forests: the area they are causing to deforestation overseas is exactly as large as the area they are regrowing at home. (2017) estimate that the average EU diet, excluding deforestation, is responsible for 0.5 tonnes CO2 per person. Africa is also an outlier as a result of how many people still rely on wood as their primary energy source. Americans cut down 15,094,678 Christmas trees in 2017, according to the most recent year of data from the U.S. Agriculture Department. In most rich countries, across Europe, North America and East Asia, forest cover is increasing, whilst in many low-to-middle income countries its decreasing. This diagram is adapted from the work of Hosonuma et al. Since then, deforestation rates have steadily declined, to 78 million hectares in the 1990s; 52 million in the early 2000s; and 47 million in the last decade. Thats 6 billion hectares. Habitat loss is the leading driver of global biodiversity loss.25 When we cut down rainforests we are destroying the habitats of many unique species, and reshaping these ecosystems permanently. 38. Scientific Reports, 7, 40678. Its useful to make this distinction because as we will see where the world has lost forests has shifted. The United Nations, as well as experts at the World Wildlife Fund and Global Forest Watch, found that one million animals are in danger of extinction as a result of how much deforestation has occurred. 1000 years ago, 20% of Scotlands land was covered by forest. As of 2020, the UN estimates the planet is losing over 7,000,000 hectares per year to deforestation.27Between 1990 and 2015, the world lost 129 million hectares of forest an area about the size of South Africa.11 Natural forests lost by continent9include: Africa 3.2 million hectares But, as countries continue to get richer this demand slows. The changes to the forest are often temporary and its expected that they will regrow. But by studying how forests have changed over time, theres good reason to think that a way forward is possible. Deforesting the earth: from prehistory to global crisis. When we treat these impacts equally we make it difficult to prioritize our efforts in the fight against deforestation. The research says 15.3 billion trees are chopped down every year. Africa is also different here. Carbon emissions from deforestation: are they driven by domestic demand or international trade? Centuries ago it was mainly temperate regions that were driving global deforestation [we take a look at this longer history of deforestation in a related article]. In just over 100 years the world lost as much forest as it had in the previous 9,000 years. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140, 753-765. Healthy communities: Tree-filled neighborhoods lower levels of domestic violence and are safer and more sociable. Because people are starting to see how climate change affects trees. Pendrill, F., Persson, U. M., Godar, J., & Kastner, T. (2019). Stage 4 The Post-Transition phase is when countries have passed the transition point and are now gaining forest again. The consumption choices of people in these countries cause deforestation elsewhere in the world. Tree density in primary forests varies from 50,000-100,000 trees per square km, so the math would put this number at 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees cut down each year. More than four times as much. [2] Only 36% of the world's rainforests remain intact. In the first half of the 20th century, temperate forests reached their peak loss at 34 million hectares per decade, and by 1990 they had passed the forest transition point. This means interventions at the national-level will be key: this can include a range of solutions including policies such as Brazils soy moratorium, the REDD+ programme to compensate for the opportunity costs of preserving these forests, and improvements in agricultural productivity so countries can continue to produce more food on less land. Estimates vary, but most date the end of the last great ice age to around 11,700 years ago.Kump, L. R., Kasting, J. F., & Crane, R. G. (2004). The researchers found that 36 million trees are cut down in urban areas each year, and 167,000 acres of impervious areas (concrete, asphalt, etc.) Hosonuma, N., Herold, M., De Sy, V., De Fries, R. S., Brockhaus, M., Verchot, L., & Romijn, E. (2012). The rate of deforestation is declining, but we still lost forests at a whopping 10 million hectares per year between 2015-2020. We can illustrate this through the so-called Forest Transition Model.14 This is shown in the chart. Deforestation is the complete removal of trees for the conversion of forest to another land use such as agriculture, mining, or towns and cities. But there is good reason to make this our primary concern. Brazil, in contrast, caused more deforestation domestically in the production of goods for other countries than it imported from elsewhere. Several studies have assessed the stage of countries across the world.17 The most recent analysis to date was published by Florence Pendrill and colleagues (2019) which looked at each countrys stage in the transition, the drivers of deforestation but also the role of international trade.18 To do this, they used the standard metrics discussed in our theory of forest transitions earlier: the share of land that is forested, and the annual change in forest cover. Thats both an economic and environmental win. Thats a lot of trees! But this is no longer the case: forest loss across North America and Europe is now the result of harvesting forestry products from tree plantations, or tree loss in wildfires. A note on UN FAO forestry data Data on net forest change, afforestation and deforestation is sourced from the UN Food and Agriculture Organizations Forest Resources Assessment. Some of the worlds poorest countries are still in the pre-transition phase. How Many Acres of Trees Are Cut Down Each Year? Deforestation and forest degradation are responsible for around 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions. How many trees are lost to deforestation each year? Since 2016, an average of 28 million hectares have been cut down every year. 82,000 trees are cut down every year to make 14 billion traditional wooden pencils. Cutting them down disrupts or destroys established, species-rich ecosystems. In a related post we have combined this FAO data with global deforestation rates from Williams (2003) to document forest change over the last 300 years this gives us data on forest change from 1700 onwards. Countries with a negative change (shown in red) are losing more than theyre able to restore. If we want to end deforestation we need to understand where and why its happening; where countries are within their transition; and what can be done to accelerate their progress through it. But the solution is not so simple. But a small global population overall meant there was little pressure on forests to make space for land to grow food, and as wood for energy. Tree density in primary forests varies from 50,000-100,000 trees per square km, so the math would put this number at 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees cut down each year. The breakdown of deforestation by region is shown in the chart. Bringing all of these elements together, we can focus on a few points that should help us prioritise our efforts to end deforestation. The scale of deforestation today might give us little hope for protecting our diverse forests. We will always indicate the original source of the data in our documentation, so you should always check the license of any such third-party data before use and redistribution. For the last two centuries forests have been growing and are almost back to where they were 1000 years ago.13. Environmental Research Letters, 14(5), 055003. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8753en. According to the Environmental Paper Network, an estimated 30% of felled trees are used for paper products. Given the current estimate of the total tree cover on the planet, that could equate to about 0.11% of trees being cut each year. Thats equivalent to the area of South Africa. Still, more than half of the worlds habitable land was forested. In China, the biggest driver is demand for oilseeds which is the combination of soy imported from Latin America and palm oil, imported from Indonesia and Malaysia. (2017). By Georgina Rannard. By Georgina Rannard. Around half of this deforestation is offset by regrowing forests, so overall we lose around five million hectares each year. 95% of the worlds deforestation occurs in the tropics [we look at this breakdown again later]. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited. The data used in this chart comes from several sources. 40% of traded deforestation ends up in high-income countries, meaning they are responsible for 12% of deforestation.29. And, we might place more value on preserving primary, native forests that havent yet been deforested over regrowing forests that have lost their previous ecosystems. How many trees have been cut down? Approximately 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are being cut each year according to a report referenced on the Rainforest Action Networks website (RAN) and other publications. 95% of this occurs in the tropics. It doesnt capture trees that are cut down in planted forests; the land is still forested, its now just regrowing forest. See which countries are gaining forest though natural forest expansion and afforestation. Are they causing more deforestation elsewhere than they are regenerating in forests at home? Geographical Journal, 166(1), 2-13. This means they were responsible for 12% of global deforestation.31 It is therefore true that rich countries are causing deforestation in poorer countries. Forestry Commission. We need more fuelwood to cook, more houses to live in, and importantly, more food to eat. The story of both soy and palm oil are complex and its not obvious that eliminating these products will fix the problem. Web3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are cut down per year. This is probably less than many people would expect. Estimates vary, but on average only 10-20% of carbon is lost during logging, and 10-30% from fires.27 In a study of logging practices in the Amazon and Congo, forests retained 76% of their carbon stocks shortly after logging.28 Logged forests recover their carbon over time, as long as the land is not converted to other uses (which is what happens in the case of deforestation). (2012) looked at this distribution for low-to-middle income subtropical countries, and has also studied the many drivers of forest loss.Hosonuma, N., Herold, M., De Sy, V., De Fries, R. S., Brockhaus, M., Verchot, L., & Romijn, E. (2012). The trees are not expected to regrow. (2018), published in Science.20, Commodity-driven deforestation and urbanization are deforestation: the forested land is completely cleared and converted into another land use a farm, mining site, or city. All of our charts can be embedded in any site. Over half of the worlds species reside in tropical forests.24 Endemic species are those which only naturally occur in a single country. I have reconstructed long-term data using various studies which Ive documented here. Absolute estimates of forest cover from other sources may differ for this reason. Agricultural and urban land: The UN FAO Statistical database provides data on global agricultural and urban land from 1961 onwards. As of 2020, the UN estimates the planet is losing over 7,000,000 hectares per year to deforestation.27Between 1990 and 2015, the world lost 129 million hectares of forest an area about the size of South Africa.11 Natural forests lost by continent9include: Africa 3.2 million hectares Forests still cover about 30 percent of the worlds land area, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate. This often comes at the cost of forests. If you struggle to increase crop yields but want to produce more food, then expanding your agricultural land is the only option. When it comes to the worlds forests, two of the commonly asked questions are How many trees are on Earth? and How many trees are cut down each year? An area the size of the United States. But, overall, oilseeds and beef tend to top the list for most countries. Why? Stage 2 The Early Transition phase is when countries start to lose forests very rapidly. Each year, an estimated 15 billion trees are cut down around the world. Web3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are cut down per year. Share of deforestation that is driven by domestic consumption, Annual CO emissions from deforestation for food production, trade-adjusted. Its State of the Worlds Forests report provides estimates of global forest cover today, and rates of change over previous decades. Approximately 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are being cut each year according to a report referenced on the Rainforest Action Networks website (RAN) and other publications. Loss of Biodiversity: Forests are the only liveable habitat for a variety of species around the globe many of which have not even have been discovered. Rural Sociology, 63(4), 533-552. All the software and code that we write is open source and made available via GitHub under the permissive MIT license. Means they were responsible for around 15 % of traded deforestation ends up in high-income countries meaning... 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