Knowra Deforestation Deforestation Deforestation is the clearing or conversion of forest land to nonforest uses. It reduces forest cover through activities such as agriculture, logging, and development.
Slash-and-burn agriculture : A farming method that clears vegetation by cutting and burning it, often to create temporary cropland. Burning can rapidly convert forest to farmland, especially where cultivation shifts to new plots.
Biodiversity loss : A decline in the variety of genes, species, or ecosystems in a place or across Earth. Clearing forests removes habitat and can isolate surviving populations.
Amazon deforestation : The loss of forest cover in the Amazon Basin, driven chiefly by agriculture, logging, mining, and infrastructure. It illustrates how cattle ranching and crop production can transform tropical forest landscapes.
Reforestation : The re-establishment of forest on land that was previously forested. It reverses forest loss by returning cleared land to tree cover.
Forest cover : The area or proportion of land occupied by forests, defined using specified criteria. Different thresholds for tree cover can produce different estimates of forest loss.
Clearcutting : A logging method that removes nearly all trees from a defined area in one operation. It is a direct form of forest removal, though some logged forests later regrow.
Habitat fragmentation : The division of continuous habitat into smaller, separated patches, often by roads or land conversion. Deforestation can leave forest species in isolated patches with reduced habitat.
Palm oil : An edible vegetable oil made from the fruit of oil palm trees, widely used in food and consumer products. Oil-palm plantation expansion has driven forest clearing in parts of Southeast Asia.
Afforestation : The establishment of forest on land that has not been forested for a long time. It adds forest cover without necessarily restoring land cleared from forest.
Global Forest Watch : An online platform that monitors forests using satellite data and provides maps and analysis. Its alerts and maps help track where tree cover loss occurs, though loss is not always deforestation.
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