One of the reasons poorer countries clear forest to make room for farmland is that they achieve low crop yields. Healthy communities: Tree-filled neighborhoods lower levels of domestic violence and are safer and more sociable. It might seem odd to argue that we should focus our efforts on tackling this quarter of forest loss (rather than the other 73%). Rich countries such as the USA, France and the United Kingdom have had a long history of deforestation but are now passed the transition point. (2020).References:FAO and UNEP. 71% of deforestation is for domestic production. The problem is that it treats all forest loss as equal. (2010) looked at the primary drivers of deforestation and degradation across tropical and subtropical countries specifically.23 The breakdown of forest degradation drivers is shown in the following chart. Not all forest loss is equal: what is the difference between deforestation and forest degradation? 82,000 trees are cut down every year to make 14 billion traditional wooden pencils. Within this global aggregated trend there are many forest transitions at local, national or regional levels occurring. 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. What are the major impacts of mass deforestation and forest loss? This is nearly always true of planted forests in temperate regions there, planted forests are long-established and do not replace primary existing forests. On the x-axis we have imported deforestation. As we explore in more detail in our related article, countries tend to follow a predictable development in forest cover, a U-shaped curve.9 They lose forests as populations grow and demand for agricultural land and fuel increases, but eventually they reach the so-called forest transition point where they begin to regrow more forests than they lose. To quote them, they wanted to prevent a common misperception that any tree cover loss shown on the map represents deforestation. The United States is the worlds largest consumer (and second largest producer, after Canada) of forest products. There is some bad news, though: that number is likely to increase by 20% by 2023. [1] That's 15.3 billion every year. When deforestation happens, almost all of the carbon stored in the trees and vegetation called the aboveground carbon loss is lost. Data on net forest change, afforestation and deforestation is sourced from the UN Food and Agriculture Organizations Forest Resources Assessment. Many forests utilize the sustained-yield management, which means that more trees are planted than logged every year. The amount of land per person that was needed to produce enough food was not small in fact, it was much larger than today. Whether we look at the distribution of endemic mammal species, bird species, or amphibian species, the map is the same: subtropical countries are packed with unique wildlife. 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. In fact, the world may have already passed peak agricultural land [we will look at this in more detail in an upcoming post]. are added every year. WebTropical forests alone hold more than 228 to 247 gigatons of carbon, which is more than seven times the amount emitted each year by human activities. (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. There is some bad news, though: that number is likely to increase by 20% by 2023. In the chart we see historical reconstructions of country-level data on the share of land covered by forest (over decades, centuries or even millennia depending on the country). 38. This number comes from the World Bank, which estimates that there are 3 trillion trees on the planet. (2020). Mather, A. S., Fairbairn, J., & Needle, C. L. (1999). Stage 4 The Post-Transition phase is when countries have passed the transition point and are now gaining forest again. The researchs results are Journal of Cleaner Production, 140, 753-765. 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 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. Thats one football field of forest lost every single second around the clock. How many trees have been cut down? 71% of this is driven by demand in domestic markets, and the remaining 29% for the production of products that are traded. 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. Scientific Reports, 7, 40678. In 2012 the mid-year of this period global emissions from fossil fuels, industry and land use change was 40.2 billion tonnes. Globally we deforest around ten million hectares of forest every year.11 Thats an area the size of Portugal every year. 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 Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020 Key findings. After long periods of forest clearance in the past, most of todays richest countries are increasing tree cover through afforestation. Crowther, T. W., Glick, H. B., Covey, K. R., Bettigole, C., Maynard, D. S., Thomas, S. M., & Tuanmu, M. N. (2015). We then get high-income countries share of deforestation as: [40% of the 29% that is traded], which is equal to 12%. How many trees are chopped down for Christmas? Rural Sociology, 63(4), 533-552. A study published on September 2, 2015 in the journal Nature suggests these answers: 3 trillion and 15.3 billion. 38. How many trees does IKEA cut down a In the United States, thats about 34 million trees cut down each year just for paper. How Many Trees are Cut down for Paper Each Year . Stage 1 The Pre-Transition phase is defined by having high levels of forest cover and no or only very slow losses over time. This is true for some problems, such as climate change. As we will see later, this would be a distraction from our primary concern: ending tropical deforestation. Note that this only measures the emissions from tropical deforestation it doesnt include any other emissions from agricultural production, such as methane from livestock, or rice, or the use of fertilizers. This is because the latter only captures deforestation the replacement of forest with another land use (such as cropland). We know where deforestation emissions are occurring, and where this demand is coming from. Low agricultural productivity and a reliance on wood for fuel meant that large amounts of land had to be cleared for basic provisions. But when forests are cut, burned or otherwise removed they emit carbon instead of absorb carbon. Please consult our full legal disclaimer. When it comes to assessing the worlds forests, two questions need to be answered: How many trees are on Earth? and. We see this in the chart. Clearing of the Brazilian Amazon for pasture and croplands was a major driver of this loss. It would be good if there was data available that would capture these additional aspects. [4] Forests cover 4.06 billion hectares (just less than 31%) of This is very close to our estimate of a one-third loss. It assumes the impact of clearing primary rainforest in the Amazon to produce soybeans is the same as logging planted forests in the UK. are added every year. This interactive map shows deforestation rates across the world. That was 6.5% of global CO2 emissions.35. If we sum countries imported deforestation by World Bank income group, we find that high-income countries were responsible for 14% of imported deforestation; upper-middle income for 52%; lower-middle income for 23%; and low income for 11%. Imagine over 100 large harvesters working non-stop. We should not only look at where these foods are produced, but also where the consumer demand is coming from. We need to pass the transition point as soon as possible, while minimising the amount of forest we lose along the way. For the last two centuries forests have been growing and are almost back to where they were 1000 years ago.13. After we adjust for imports and exports, how much CO2 from deforestation is each country responsible for? 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. In the chart we see the comparison between the change in domestic forest area, and deforestation driven by imported goods.33 On the vertical axis we have the domestic change in forest area: this is shown only for countries where the forest area is increasing. Then things started to speed up. And its not just in forests eitherits also happening on farms, in cities, and on private property. It doesnt capture trees that are cut down in planted forests; the land is still forested, its now just regrowing forest. Deforestation, reforestation, and development. Thats 6 billion hectares. How much deforestation happens every day? Population growth meant that todays rich countries across Europe and North America needed more and more resources such as land for agriculture, wood for energy, and for construction.8. 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. As I mentioned earlier, 14% of deforestation today is driven by consumers in rich countries. By Georgina Rannard. The data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. WebThe UN FAO estimate that 10 million hectares of forest were cut down each year. Williams, M. (2003). How many trees are cut down each year? One option is to adopt stricter guidelines on what suppliers to source from, and implementing zero-deforestation policies that stop the trade of goods that have been produced on deforested land. Nicolas-Jacques Cont, an officer in Napoleon's army, invented the modern pencil by combining graphite and clay for lead durability. This highlights an important point: less than 20% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa have access to clean fuels for cooking, meaning they still rely on wood and charcoal. 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. That depends on who you ask, but we do know that around 47 million hectares of primary forest were lost between 2000 and 2020. The definition of forest can vary depending on aspects such as tree density and height. The study also finds that human activity negatively affects tree abundance from the boreal forests to the equator. How many trees are lost to deforestation each year? Since 2016, an average of 28 million hectares have been cut down every year. 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. That means that each year, one percent of all trees are being destroyed. See the distribution of global forests and which countries have the most forest cover. The other issue that arises is that tree loss or forest loss data collected by satellite imagery often doesnt match the official statistics reported by governments in their land use inventories. In the coming decades this is where we might expect to see the most rapid loss of forests unless these countries take action to prevent it, and the world supports them in the goal. At the end of this stage, countries are approaching the transition point. How many trees are cut down each year?. Most deforestation today occurs in low-to-middle income countries. The research says 15.3 billion trees are chopped down every year. Note that in this study, the category of subsistence agriculture was classified as a deforestation driver, and so is not included. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca9825en. 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