By the 19th century the forest area was reduced to a third of what it once was. According to the Environmental Paper Network, an estimated 30% of felled trees are used for paper products. Web42 million trees are cut down each day. The world passed peaked deforestation in the 1980s and it has been on the decline since then we take a look at rates of forest loss since 1700 in our follow-up post. The Asia-Pacific region predominantly Indonesia and Malaysia export a higher share: 44%. Still, more than half of the worlds habitable land was forested. I have therefore excluded these categories so we can focus on how habitable land is used. But when forests are cut, burned or otherwise removed they emit carbon instead of absorb carbon. After seeing this data, people might argue that we should cut back on trade. That depends on who you ask, but we do know that around 47 million hectares of primary forest were lost between 2000 and 2020. 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. 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. The consumption choices of people in these countries cause deforestation elsewhere in the world. Data on the annual change in domestic forests is sourced from the UN FAOs Forest Resources Assessment. As to the number of trees this represents, its impossible to get an accurate count. (2020). Mapping tree density at a global scale. 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. As to the number of trees this represents, its impossible to get an accurate count. Why should we care most about tropical deforestation? But, understanding the role of deforestation in the products we buy is important. Another way that richer countries can contribute is by investing in technologies such as improved seed varieties, fertilizers and agricultural practices that allow farmers to increase yields. Web3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are cut down per year. There is a geographical argument (why the tropics?) Most emissions 71% came from foods consumed in the country that they were produced. Stage 4 The Post-Transition phase is when countries have passed the transition point and are now gaining forest again. Today thats just 34%. Today, most deforestation occurs in the tropics. How many trees are lost to deforestation each year? 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. But, as countries continue to get richer this demand slows. How much deforestation happens every day? This is nearly always true of planted forests in temperate regions there, planted forests are long-established and do not replace primary existing forests. 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. Mather refers to an annual loss of less than 0.25% as a small loss. The total cut down so far is over 470 million trees since January 1st. Environmental Research Letters, 7(4), 044009. The United States is the worlds largest consumer (and second largest producer, after Canada) of forest products. WebThe UN FAO estimate that 10 million hectares of forest were cut down each year. If we fast-forward to 1700 when the global population had increased more than ten-fold, to 603 million. People cut down 15 billion trees each year and the global tree count has fallen by 46% since the beginning of human civilization. Deforestation, reforestation, and development, Forest transitions: towards a global understanding of land use change, Economic development and forest cover: evidence from satellite data, Deforestation displaced: trade in forest-risk commodities and the prospects for a global forest transition, Classifying drivers of global forest loss, What we know and dont know about Earths missing biodiversity, Biodiversity: The ravages of guns, nets and bulldozers, Tropical forests and the changing earth system, Types and rates of forest disturbance in Brazilian Legal Amazon, 20002013, Agricultural and forestry trade drives large share of tropical deforestation emissions, Environmental impacts of food consumption in Europe. University of Chicago Press. Global Environmental Change, 56, 1-10. Biodiversity: The ravages of guns, nets and bulldozers. Most traded emissions are embedded in soy and palm oil exports to China and India; and beef, soy and palm oil exports to Europe. 2020. How many trees have been cut down? Moving into the 20th century there was a stepwise change in demand for agricultural land and energy from wood. Not only would this be bad for people, it might also be bad for forests. Less than one-third (29%) is for the production of goods that are traded. How many trees are lost to deforestation each year? 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. 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. For example, the average German generated half a tonne (510 kilograms) of CO2 per person from domestic and imported foods. After long periods of forest clearance in the past, most of todays richest countries are increasing tree cover through afforestation. Deforestation in Africa is mainly driven by local populations and markets; only 9% of its emissions are exported. Across Africa, fuelwood and charcoal played a much larger role it accounted for more than half (52%). Humans have been cutting down trees for millennia. It provides long-term estimates on forest cover in 10,000 and 5,000 years BP. Tropical forests, on aggregate, have also passed peak deforestation in the 1980s the longest of all bars but have not passed the transition to reforestation. Tyukavina, A., Hansen, M. C., Potapov, P. V., Stehman, S. V., Smith-Rodriguez, K., Okpa, C., & Aguilar, R. (2017). Weve seen the five key drivers of forest loss. Healthy environment: One hundred mature trees catch about 139,000 gallons of rainwater per year. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 Key findings. Humans have already destroyed around 46% of the trees on Earth. They should keep their domestic reforestation targets in perspective with their net impact on global forests. Nature Sustainability, 1-9. How much deforestation happens every day? Thats an area the size of the United Kingdom. For example, Ellis et al. Geographical Journal, 166(1), 2-13. Rome. The researchs results are Web42 million trees are cut down each day. This number comes from the World Bank, which estimates that there are 3 trillion trees on the planet. That means that each year, one percent of all trees are being destroyed. Our crop yields improve and so we need less land for agriculture. In the article we will look at the reasons we lose forest; how these can be differentiated in a useful way; and what this means for understanding our priorities in tackling forest loss. Healthy environment: One hundred mature trees catch about 139,000 gallons of rainwater per year. Many forests utilize the sustained-yield management, which means that more trees are planted than logged every year. A new study published in Nature estimates the planet has 3.04 trillion trees. By Georgina Rannard. 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. How much forest has the world lost? Healthy communities: Tree-filled neighborhoods lower levels of domestic violence and are safer and more sociable. The first step in doing this is for rich countries to monitor their deforestation impacts overseas more closely. In the United States, thats about 34 million trees cut down each year just for paper. (2019) quantified the deforestation embedded in traded goods between countries.30 They did this by calculating the amount of deforestation associated with specific food and forestry products, and combining it with a trade model. The net change in forest cover measures any gains in forest cover either through natural forest expansion or afforestation through tree-planting minus deforestation. Latin America exports around 23% of its emissions; that means more than three-quarters are generated for products that are consumed within domestic markets. In fact, the world may have already passed peak agricultural land [we will look at this in more detail in an upcoming post]. Historical data pre-1990 is sourced from Michael Williams book, Deforesting the Earth: from prehistory to global crisis. As mentioned above, about 15 billion trees are cut down each year. They first lose lots of forest, but reach a turning point and begin to regain it again. 2020. Americans cut down 15,094,678 Christmas trees in 2017, according to the most recent year of data from the U.S. Agriculture Department. 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. [4] Forests cover 4.06 billion hectares (just less than 31%) of Explore more of our work on Forests and Deforestation, Anthropogenic Biomes: 10,000 BCE to 2015 CE, The course and drivers of the forest transition: the case of France, The relationships of population and forest trends, An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation drivers in developing countries, Increasing human dominance of tropical forests, Proactive conservation to prevent habitat losses to agricultural expansion, Forest transition theory and the reforesting of Scotland, Is there a forest transition? Land, 9(5), 129. Because people are starting to see how climate change affects trees. Why? Which countries are gaining, and which are losing forest? The rate of deforestation is declining, but we still lost forests at a whopping 10 million hectares per year between 2015-2020. One of the reasons poorer countries clear forest to make room for farmland is that they achieve low crop yields. The 11-month balance shows that 1,539,970 trees were cut down each day, which means 1,059 trees per minute or almost 18 trees per second. The fact that the per capita emissions after trade are very high means that a lot of their food products are consumed by people in Brazil and Indonesia. Each year, an estimated 15 billion trees are cut down around the world. In a previous post we looked at this change in global forests over the long-run. Tropical forests are also large carbon sinks, and can store a lot of carbon per unit area.26. To quote them, they wanted to prevent a common misperception that any tree cover loss shown on the map represents deforestation. But, the fact that forest transitions are possible should give us confidence that a positive future is possible. Countries which lie above the grey line such as the United States, Finland, China restore more forest each year domestically than they import from elsewhere. (2012) gathered this data from a range of sources including country submissions as part of their REDD+ readiness activities, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) country profiles, UNFCCC national communications and scientific studies. A future with more people and more forest is possible. Note that in this study, the category of subsistence agriculture was classified as a deforestation driver, and so is not included. But its not the case for deforestation. The carbon footprint of diets across the EU vary from country-to-country, and estimates vary depending on how much land use change is factored into these figures. Deforestation, reforestation, and development. 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. The researchs results are Each year, an estimated 15 billion trees are cut down around the world. Environmental Research Letters, 14(5), 055003. Forest degradation measures a thinning of the canopy a reduction in the density of trees in the area but without a change in land use. Because people are starting to see how climate change affects trees. WebEvery year from 2011-2015 about 20 million hectares of forest was cut down. These are big numbers, and important ones to track: forest loss creates a number of negative impacts, ranging from carbon emissions to species extinctions and biodiversity loss. 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 Lewis, S. L., Edwards, D. P., & Galbraith, D. (2015). An area the size of the United States. In the map we see the net deforestation embedded in trade for each country. How many trees are cut down each year in the Amazon rainforest? How many trees are cut down each year?. Not all forest is equal. From the 1920s through to the 1980s, decadal losses quadrupled to almost 120 million hectares. 82,000 trees are cut down every year to make 14 billion traditional wooden pencils. On balance, they add to the global forest stock. However, most align on the relative change in forests over this period. Proactive conservation to prevent habitat losses to agricultural expansion. (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). Healthy communities: Tree-filled neighborhoods lower levels of domestic violence and are safer and more sociable. An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation drivers in developing countries. Most deforestation today occurs in low-to-middle income countries. 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.) Williams, M. (2003). It would be good if there was data available that would capture these additional aspects. In the map we see their assessment of each countrys stage in the transition. theyre driving deforestation elsewhere; whilst many subtropical countries are partly cutting down trees to meet this demand from rich countries. 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