A new study published in Nature estimates the planet has 3.04 trillion trees. Anthropogenic Biomes: 10,000 BCE to 2015 CE. Many countries have followed this classic U-shaped pattern. In the map we see the net deforestation embedded in trade for each country. Forest Transitions: why do we lose then regain forests? Geographical Journal, 166(1), 2-13. Science, 349(6250), 827-832. 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). It also estimates that 46% of the worlds trees have been cleared over the past 12,000 years. Then things started to speed up. Our crop yields improve and so we need less land for agriculture. (2020). Since the end of the last great ice age 10,000 years ago the world has lost one-third of its forests.5 Two billion hectares of forest an area twice the size of the United States has been cleared to grow crops, raise livestock, and use for fuelwood. This is shortly after the end of the last great ice age, through to the present day.2. Deforestation rates accelerated. More than four times as much. Thats equivalent to the area of South Africa. Improvements in agricultural productivity tends to both drive and follow economic growth. This topic page can be cited as: All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the Creative Commons BY license. There is little forest left. 1000 years ago, 20% of Scotlands land was covered by forest. Forest loss measures the net change in forest cover: the loss in forests due to deforestation plus any expansion of forest through afforestation.6. Brazil and Indonesia alone account for almost half. Imagine over 100 large harvesters working non-stop. This is true for some problems, such as climate change. Science, 361(6407), 1108-1111. As to the number of trees this represents, its impossible to get an accurate count. 40% of traded deforestation ends up in high-income countries, meaning they are responsible for 12% of deforestation.29. Several studies have assessed the stage of countries across the world.17 The most recent analysis to date was published by Florence Pendrill and colleagues (2019) which looked at each countrys stage in the transition, the drivers of deforestation but also the role of international trade.18 To do this, they used the standard metrics discussed in our theory of forest transitions earlier: the share of land that is forested, and the annual change in forest cover. Most traded emissions are embedded in soy and palm oil exports to China and India; and beef, soy and palm oil exports to Europe. Belhaven Press. Some of the worlds poorest countries are still in the pre-transition phase. We can illustrate this through the so-called Forest Transition Model.14 This is shown in the chart. What we know and dont know about Earths missing biodiversity. 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. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8753en. Countries with a negative change (shown in red) are losing more than theyre able to restore. At the top of the list we see some of the major producer countries Brazil and Indonesia. It might seem odd to argue that we should focus our efforts on tackling this quarter of forest loss (rather than the other 73%). (2017). By the 19th century the forest area was reduced to a third of what it once was. Rome. 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. The number of trees cut down in the Brazilian Amazon in January far exceeded deforestation for the same month last year, according to government satellite data. How many trees does IKEA cut down a Some interesting facts state that every second, 1.5 acres of wood are cut down, Ellis, E. C., Beusen, A. H., & Goldewijk, K. K. (2020). Countries below the line such as the UK and Germany are not growing forests fast enough to offset the deforestation theyre creating elsewhere. Some interesting facts state that every second, 1.5 acres of wood are cut down, Lewis, S. L., Edwards, D. P., & Galbraith, D. (2015). Environmental Research Letters, 7(4), 044009. However, most align on the relative change in forests over this period. One of the reasons poorer countries clear forest to make room for farmland is that they achieve low crop yields. Imagine over 100 large harvesters working non-stop. They are smaller, and more temporary. But when forests are cut, burned or otherwise removed they emit carbon instead of absorb carbon. The average across the EU was 0.3 tonnes CO2 per person. This is also true for major economies such as China and India. 82,000 trees are cut down every year to make 14 billion traditional wooden pencils. Explore long-term changes in deforestation, and deforestation rates across the world today. Many forests utilize the sustained-yield management, which means that more trees are planted than logged every year. Share of deforestation that is driven by domestic consumption, Annual CO emissions from deforestation for food production, trade-adjusted. This is because the latter only captures deforestation the replacement of forest with another land use (such as cropland). Its domestic demand, not international trade, that is the main driver of deforestation. According to the Environmental Paper Network, an estimated 30% of felled trees are used for paper products. Africas emissions are high because people are clearing forests to produce more food. Most deforestation occurs for the production of goods that are consumed within domestic markets. In 2012 the mid-year of this period global emissions from fossil fuels, industry and land use change was 40.2 billion tonnes. Since then, deforestation rates have steadily declined, to 78 million hectares in the 1990s; 52 million in the early 2000s; and 47 million in the last decade. As we saw previously, this deforestation accounts for around one-quarter of global forest loss. Without reliable metrics that capture all of these differences, we will have to stick with total changes in forest area for now. Most of todays richest countries all of Europe, North America, Japan, South Korea have passed the turning point and are now regaining forest. 38. 38. Pendrill, F., Persson, U. M., Godar, J., & Kastner, T. (2019). That is why we should be focusing on tropical deforestation. The breakdown of forest loss globally, and by region, is shown in the chart.22. If poorer countries are cutting down forests to make food for rich consumers, then we should just stop trading these goods. Decisionmakers could give as much of our attention to European logging as to destruction of the Amazon. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited. This map shows the net change in forest cover across the world. Carbon emissions from deforestation: are they driven by domestic demand or international trade? To put this in perspective, that would be around one-sixth of the total carbon footprint of the average EU diet.36. The world loses 5 million hectares of forest to deforestation each year. Deforestation and forest degradation are responsible for around 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions. 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. Maxwell, S. L., Fuller, R. A., Brooks, T. M., & Watson, J. E. (2016). Healthy environment: One hundred mature trees catch about 139,000 gallons of rainwater per year. How Many Trees are Cut down for Paper Each Year . But, as countries continue to get richer this demand slows. Forestry production and wildfires usually result in forest degradation the forest experiences short-term disturbance but if left alone is likely to regrow. Second, it makes clear how much deforestation accelerated over the last century. Deforesting the earth: from prehistory to global crisis. Since 2016, an average of 28 million hectares have been cut down every year. By Georgina Rannard. How Many Trees are Cut down for Paper Each Year . This gives us an indication of the impact of the average persons diet. And with the growth of technological innovations such as lab-grown meat and substitute products, there is the real possibility that we can continue to enjoy meat or meat-like foods while freeing up the massive amounts of land we use to raise livestock. It was a net importer. Its useful to make this distinction because as we will see where the world has lost forests has shifted. At the beginning of this phase, the forest area is at its lowest point. Forests still cover about 30 percent of the worlds land area, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate. On the left-hand side we have the countries (grouped by region) where deforestation occurs, and on the right we have the countries and regions where these products are consumed. It provides long-term estimates on forest cover in 10,000 and 5,000 years BP. Please consult our full legal disclaimer. Many people think of environmental concerns as a modern issue: humanitys destruction of nature and ecosystems as a result of very recent population growth and increasing consumption. Note that in this study, the category of subsistence agriculture was classified as a deforestation driver, and so is not included. Just over one-quarter of global forest loss is driven by deforestation. High-income countries were the largest importers of deforestation, accounting for 40% of it. Bringing all of these elements together, we can focus on a few points that should help us prioritise our efforts to end deforestation. Most tropical deforestation is driven by demand for products in domestic markets. A study published on September 2, 2015 in the journal Nature suggests these answers: 3 trillion and 15.3 billion. According to the Environmental Paper Network, an estimated 30% of felled trees are used for paper products. Deforestation is the complete removal of trees for the conversion of forest to another land use such as agriculture, mining, or towns and cities. But its not the case for deforestation. 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. In the chart we see how the cover of the earths surface has changed over the past 10,000 years. When we treat these impacts equally we make it difficult to prioritize our efforts in the fight against deforestation. How many trees are chopped down for Christmas? Thats more than the countrys CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, which are around 2.2 tonnes per person. As to the number of trees this represents, its impossible to get an accurate count. Mather refers to an annual loss of less than 0.25% as a small loss. [4] Forests cover 4.06 billion hectares (just less than 31%) of 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. Forest transitions: towards a global understanding of land use change. Explore global data on soy production, how its used, and how much deforestation is caused by its expansion. 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. The same is true of the United States; back in 1630 46% of the area of todays USA was covered by forest. 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. It was a net exporter. 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. 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 The research says 15.3 billion trees are chopped down every year. As mentioned above, about 15 billion trees are cut down each year. 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. Each year, an estimated 15 billion trees are cut down around the world. A new study published in Nature estimates the planet has 3.04 trillion trees. If you struggle to increase crop yields but want to produce more food, then expanding your agricultural land is the only option. At their Global Forest Watch platform they were already presenting maps of forest loss across the world. The UK imported 34,000 hectares of deforestation but increased its domestic forests by only 19,000 hectares. Africa is also different here. For the last two centuries forests have been growing and are almost back to where they were 1000 years ago.13. But international markets alone cannot fix this problem. Since there is often year-to-year variability in deforestation or reforestation rates, this is shown as the five-year average. Why should we care most about tropical deforestation? Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 27(9), 501-510. How many trees are cut down each year in the Amazon rainforest? Nature Sustainability, 1-9. The taller the bar, the larger the change in forest area. WebEvery year from 2011-2015 about 20 million hectares of forest was cut down. By the mid-18th century, only 4% of the country was forested. Forests still cover about 30 percent of the worlds land area, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate. The story of both soy and palm oil are complex and its not obvious that eliminating these products will fix the problem. (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). How many trees does IKEA cut down a Sometimes these restoration programmes pale in comparison to the deforestation theyre driving elsewhere. How Many Acres of Trees Are Cut Down Each Year? Explore palm oil production across the world, and its impacts on the environment. 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. In just over 100 years the world lost as much forest as it had in the previous 9,000 years. Our World In Data is a project of the Global Change Data Lab, a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity Number 1186433). The research says 15.3 billion trees are chopped down every year. Luxembourg has the largest footprint at nearly three tonnes per person. The data used in this chart comes from several sources. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020: Main report. How many trees does IKEA cut down a It also estimates that 46% of the worlds trees have been cleared over the past 12,000 years. Absolute estimates of forest cover from other sources may differ for this reason. 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. Classifying drivers of global forest loss. It feeds into the popular idea that eating local is one of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint. 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? 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. The consumption choices of people in these countries cause deforestation elsewhere in the world. But we also see that some countries which import a lot of food have high emissions. Some interesting facts state that every second, 1.5 acres of wood are cut down, 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. The researchs results are Net importers of deforestation (shown in brown) are countries that contribute more to deforestation in other countries than they do in their home country. A future with more people and more forest is possible. Curtis, P. G., Slay, C. M., Harris, N. L., Tyukavina, A., & Hansen, M. C. (2018). Do rich countries import deforestation from overseas? This is calculated by taking each countrys imported deforestation and subtracting its exported deforestation. [2] Only 36% of the world's rainforests remain intact. theyre driving deforestation elsewhere; whilst many subtropical countries are partly cutting down trees to meet this demand from rich countries. 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So we need less land for agriculture forestry production and wildfires usually result in forest area is its... Does IKEA cut down for Paper products feeds into the popular idea that eating local how many trees are cut down each year one of reasons.
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