See which countries are gaining forest though natural forest expansion and afforestation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140, 753-765. The United States is the worlds largest consumer (and second largest producer, after Canada) of forest products. At this stage, countries are still losing forest each year but at a lower rate than before. Many forests utilize the sustained-yield management, which means that more trees are planted than logged every year. Why? For example, the US imported 64,000 hectares of deforested land, but increased its domestic forest area by 275,000 hectares. There is some bad news, though: that number is likely to increase by 20% by 2023. And its not just in forests eitherits also happening on farms, in cities, and on private property. Absolute estimates of forest cover from other sources may differ for this reason. If we sum countries imported deforestation by World Bank income group, we find that high-income countries were responsible for 40% of imported deforestation; upper-middle income for 25%; lower-middle income for 20%; and low income for 5%.We then get high-income countries share of deforestation as: [40% of the 29% that is traded], which is equal to 12%. As mentioned above, about 15 billion trees are cut down each year. How many trees are lost to deforestation each year? The UN FAO estimate that 10 million hectares of forest were cut down each year. Can we bring it to an end? Global Environmental Change, 15(1), 23-31. Lewis, S. L., Edwards, D. P., & Galbraith, D. (2015). Some interesting facts state that every second, 1.5 acres of wood are cut down, That means that each year, one percent of all trees are being destroyed. 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. They also contribute to global deforestation through the foods they import from poorer countries. Agricultural and forestry trade drives large share of tropical deforestation emissions. Approximately 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are being cut each year according to a report referenced on the Rainforest Action Networks website (RAN) and other publications. More than four times as much. Forest transition theory and the reforesting of Scotland. Humans have already destroyed around 46% of the trees on Earth. How many trees are chopped down for Christmas? 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%. Instead of using wood for fuel we switch to fossil fuels, or hopefully, more renewables and nuclear energy. (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). [2] Only 36% of the world's rainforests remain intact. This is nearly always true of planted forests in temperate regions there, planted forests are long-established and do not replace primary existing forests. Proactive conservation to prevent habitat losses to agricultural expansion. The taller the bar, the larger the change in forest area. A new study published in Nature estimates the planet has 3.04 trillion trees. Deforestation also results in larger losses of biodiversity and carbon relative to degradation. 95% of global deforestation occurs in the tropics. 2020. 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. Most traded emissions are embedded in soy and palm oil exports to China and India; and beef, soy and palm oil exports to Europe. Across Africa, fuelwood and charcoal played a much larger role it accounted for more than half (52%). Noriko Hosonuma et al. (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. 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.) The world loses almost six million hectares of forest each year to deforestation. Help us do this work by making a donation. Science Advances, 3(4), e1601047. Forestry Commission. For example, after we adjust for all the goods that the UK imports and exports, it caused more deforestation elsewhere than it did domestically. Just over one-quarter of global forest loss is driven by deforestation. Web42 million trees are cut down each day. In the chart here we see the breakdown of deforestation emissions by product for each consumer country. (2012).Hosonuma, N., Herold, M., De Sy, V., De Fries, R. S., Brockhaus, M., Verchot, L., & Romijn, E. (2012). This diagram is adapted from the work of Hosonuma et al. Low agricultural productivity and a reliance on wood for fuel meant that large amounts of land had to be cleared for basic provisions. Why? Thats both an economic and environmental win. Historical data pre-1990 is sourced from Michael Williams book, Deforesting the Earth: from prehistory to global crisis. Tropical forests and the changing earth system. Even with the most basic of lifestyles compared to todays standards, the per capita footprint of our ancestors would have been large. Imagine over 100 large harvesters working non-stop. In the map we see the net deforestation embedded in trade for each country. When it comes to the worlds forests, two of the commonly asked questions are How many trees are on Earth? and How many trees are cut down each year? 95% of this occurs in the tropics. 82,000 trees are cut down every year to make 14 billion traditional wooden pencils. Year-to-year data on forest change comes with several issues: either data at this resolution is not available, or year-to-year changes can be highly variable. 59% occurs in Latin America, with a further 28% from Southeast Asia. We need more fuelwood to cook, more houses to live in, and importantly, more food to eat. Its useful to make this distinction because as we will see where the world has lost forests has shifted. 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. It was a net importer. The study also finds that human activity negatively affects tree abundance from the boreal forests to the equator. There is some bad news, though: that number is likely to increase by 20% by 2023. This rapid swapping of green for gray is harmful to the people living in these spaces, and it sets cities up for long-term environmental decline, according to the scientists. 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. Explore long-term changes in deforestation, and deforestation rates across the world today. Thats an area the size of the United Kingdom. Firstly, international trade does play a role in deforestation its responsible for almost one-third of emissions. The change is temporary. Scientific Reports, 7, 40678. But distilling changes to this single metric tree or forest loss comes with its own issues. We need to pass the transition point as soon as possible, while minimising the amount of forest we lose along the way. According to the Environmental Paper Network, an estimated 30% of felled trees are used for paper products. More than 7 million hectares of forest, or 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees, are cut down every year because of deforestation. are added every year. Net forest loss is not the same as deforestation it measures deforestation plus any gains in forest over a given period. Brazil, in contrast, caused more deforestation domestically in the production of goods for other countries than it imported from elsewhere. In a study published in Global Environmental Change, Florence Pendrill and colleagues investigated where tropical deforestation was occurring; what products were driving this; and, using global trade models, they traced where these products were going in international supply chains.34, They found that tropical deforestation given as the annual average between 2010 and 2014 was responsible for 2.6 billion tonnes of CO2 per year. Science, 349(6250), 827-832. 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 Is there a forest transition? Healthy communities: Tree-filled neighborhoods lower levels of domestic violence and are safer and more sociable. The data used in this chart comes from several sources. How Many Acres of Trees Are Cut Down Each Year? Which countries are gaining, and which are losing forest? We can illustrate this through the so-called Forest Transition Model.14 This is shown in the chart. Global forest resources. What we know and dont know about Earths missing biodiversity. The researchs results are Thats around half the size of Germany. Why should we care most about tropical deforestation? Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. (2020).References:FAO and UNEP. How much deforestation happens every day? How much deforestation happens every day? 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. This increase was mostly driven by tropical deforestation as countries across Asia and Latin America followed the path of Europe and North America. 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. We see this in the chart. The same is true of the United States; back in 1630 46% of the area of todays USA was covered by forest. I have reconstructed long-term data using various studies which Ive documented here. Growing all those trees requires about 19.7 square miles of land. Humans have already destroyed around 46% of the trees on Earth. In a previous post we looked at this change in global forests over the long-run. 40% of traded deforestation ends up in high-income countries, meaning they are responsible for 12% of deforestation.29. This number comes from the World Bank, which estimates that there are 3 trillion trees on the planet. On balance, they add to the global forest stock. When we think of the growing pressures on land from modern populations we often picture sprawling megacities. According to the Environmental Paper Network, an estimated 30% of felled trees are used for paper products. 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. As mentioned above, about 15 billion trees are cut down each year. People cut down 15 billion trees each year and the global tree count has fallen by 46% since the beginning of human civilization. This number comes from the World Bank, which estimates that there are 3 trillion trees on the planet. At the top of the list we see some of the major producer countries Brazil and Indonesia. Global deforestation reached its peak in the 1980s. Pre-1961 land use is sourced from the work of Ellis et al. The scale of deforestation today might give us little hope for protecting our diverse forests. They should keep their domestic reforestation targets in perspective with their net impact on global forests. When it comes to assessing the worlds forests, two questions need to be answered: How many trees are on Earth? and. 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. They first lose lots of forest, but reach a turning point and begin to regain it again. Available here. In the tropics, some forestry production can be classified as deforestation when primary rainforests are cut down to make room for managed tree plantations.21. Americans cut down 15,094,678 Christmas trees in 2017, according to the most recent year of data from the U.S. Agriculture Department. Brazil, for example, went through a period of very rapid deforestation in the 1980s and 90s (its early transition phase) but its losses have slowed, meaning it is now in the late transition. The Forest Transition therefore tends to follow a development pathway.16 As a country achieves economic growth it moves through each of the four stages. Since international demand is driving one-third of deforestation emissions, we have some opportunity to reduce emissions through global consumers and supply chains. Rudel, T. K., Coomes, O. T., Moran, E., Achard, F., Angelsen, A., Xu, J., & Lambin, E. (2005). We see massive differences in how important each driver is across the world. The study also finds that human activity negatively affects tree abundance from the boreal forests to the equator. It might seem odd to argue that we should focus our efforts on tackling this quarter of forest loss (rather than the other 73%). Since 2016, an average of 28 million hectares have been cut down every year. But it can bridge between deforestation and degradation depending on the timeframe and permanence of these agricultural practices. By Georgina Rannard. Data from 1990 onwards is sourced from the UNs 2020 Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020.References:Williams, M. (2003). Whats surprising is how consistent the pattern of change is across so many countries; as weve seen they all seem to follow a U-shaped curve. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 27(9), 501-510. Degradation drivers, including logging and especially wildfires can definitely have major impacts on forest health: animal populations decline, trees can die, and CO2 is emitted. Tropical forests are home to some of the richest and most diverse ecosystems on the planet. Not all forest is equal. But international markets alone cannot fix this problem. 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. Healthy communities: Tree-filled neighborhoods lower levels of domestic violence and are safer and more sociable. Then things started to speed up. International trade is important for socioeconomic development. 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. But most emissions are driven by domestic markets this means policies in the major producer countries will be key to tackling this problem. Web3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are cut down per year. After long periods of forest clearance in the past, most of todays richest countries are increasing tree cover through afforestation. Rural Sociology, 63(4), 533-552. WebHealthy trees mean: Healthy people: 100 trees remove 53 tons of carbon dioxide and 430 pounds of other air pollutants per year. The research says 15.3 billion trees are chopped down every year. Not all forest loss is equal: what is the difference between deforestation and forest degradation? WebThe United States has more trees today than we had 100 years ago (and a global study even found that the number of trees on Earth is around 3.04 trillion, a much higher number than previously believed.) But not all of it is to produce products for local markets. [2] Only 36% of the world's rainforests remain intact. Journal of Rural Studies, 15(1), 65-90.Mather, A. S., & Needle, C. L. (2000). The Earth System (Vol. Forest Transitions: why do we lose then regain forests? Loss of Biodiversity: Forests are the only liveable habitat for a variety of species around the globe many of which have not even have been discovered. The change is permanent. How many trees are cut down each year in the Amazon rainforest? How many trees have been cut down? 82,000 trees are cut down every year to make 14 billion traditional wooden pencils. A future with more people and more forest is possible. 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. Forest cover falls quickly, and the annual loss of forest is high. Thats 6 billion hectares. The breakdown of forest loss globally, and by region, is shown in the chart.22. Its the foods and products we buy, not where we live, that has the biggest impact on global land use. We will always indicate the original source of the data in our documentation, so you should always check the license of any such third-party data before use and redistribution. Our World In Data is a project of the Global Change Data Lab, a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity Number 1186433). When citing this topic page, please also cite the underlying data sources. Thats one football field of forest lost every single second around the clock. Deforestation is the complete removal of trees for the conversion of forest to another land use such as agriculture, mining, or towns and cities. are added every year. Countries may lose some forest each year, but this is at a very slow rate. But it was then that England reached its transition point and since then, forests have doubled in size. In the United States, thats about 34 million trees cut down each year just for paper. I have therefore excluded these categories so we can focus on how habitable land is used. England is similar: in the late 11th century, 15% of the country was forested, and over the following centuries two-thirds were cut down. The first step in doing this is for rich countries to monitor their deforestation impacts overseas more closely. 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. But urban land accounts for just 1% of global habitable land. Web3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are cut down per year. [4] Forests cover 4.06 billion hectares (just less than 31%) of University of Chicago Press. Today, only 4 billion hectares are left. But when forests are cut, burned or otherwise removed they emit carbon instead of absorb carbon. Studies, 15 ( 1 ), 65-90.Mather, A. S., & Galbraith, D. P., Galbraith... Or forest loss comes with its own issues we can illustrate this through the so-called forest transition this! 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