Knowra Tropical deforestation Tropical deforestation Tropical deforestation is the large-scale clearing or degradation of forests in tropical regions, driven mainly by conversion to agriculture, infrastructure, and extractive uses.
Slash-and-burn agriculture : A farming method that clears vegetation by cutting and burning it, then cultivates the exposed soil. Smallholder clearing can create expanding patches of forest loss, especially where fallow periods shorten.
Amazon deforestation : The loss and degradation of forest cover in the Amazon Basin. The Amazon provides a major case of forest conversion, road expansion, fire, and policy change.
Biodiversity loss : The decline or disappearance of biological diversity within a habitat, ecosystem, or across Earth. Clearing removes habitat and can push forest-dependent species toward extinction.
Forest degradation : A decline in a forest's ecological structure, function, or capacity without complete conversion to another land use. Degradation can reduce forest quality while leaving tree cover in place; deforestation entails forest loss.
Cattle ranching : The raising of cattle for meat, dairy, or other products, often on managed grazing land. Pasture expansion is a major direct driver of forest conversion in parts of tropical Latin America.
Deforestation in Indonesia : The clearing and degradation of forests across Indonesia, including on peatlands and in biodiverse lowland forests. Palm oil, pulpwood, logging, and peat fires have shaped a prominent Southeast Asian case.
Carbon cycle : The movement of carbon among the atmosphere, oceans, land, and living organisms. Forest removal releases stored carbon and weakens a major pathway for atmospheric carbon uptake.
Afforestation : The establishment of forest on land that has not recently been forested. Planting trees on nonforest land differs from preventing the clearance of existing tropical forests.
Industrial logging : The commercial felling and extraction of trees for timber and other wood products. Selective extraction opens forests to roads, fire, and later conversion even when canopy remains.
Global Forest Watch : An online platform that maps forest change using satellite data and related information. Its alerts and maps make forest loss visible at national and local scales.
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