Environmental Impacts of Deforestation
- Many of the impacts of deforestation are environmental including:
- Areas that have been deforested are planted with monoculture which reduces biodiversity
- Interception and infiltration decrease which reduces evapotranspiration and as result precipitation decreases
- This also increases overland flow which leads to soil erosion and sedimentation of the rivers
- Sediment builds up on river beds reducing their capacity and increasing the flood risk
- Lack of interception increases the leaching of nutrients
- Fewer trees to absorb CO2 means an increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere adding to the enhanced greenhouse effect
Environmental Impacts of Deforestation