how many trees are cut down each year

(2012).Hosonuma, N., Herold, M., De Sy, V., De Fries, R. S., Brockhaus, M., Verchot, L., & Romijn, E. (2012). 38. Biodiversity: The ravages of guns, nets and bulldozers. Global forest resources. This map shows the net change in forest cover across the world. For example, Ellis et al. Improvements in crop yields mean the per capita demand for agricultural land continues to fall. Our crop yields improve and so we need less land for agriculture. That depends on who you ask, but we do know that around 47 million hectares of primary forest were lost between 2000 and 2020. Stage 2 The Early Transition phase is when countries start to lose forests very rapidly. Tropical forests are also large carbon sinks, and can store a lot of carbon per unit area.26. How many trees are cut down each year?. 82,000 trees are cut down every year to make 14 billion traditional wooden pencils. We can illustrate this through the so-called Forest Transition Model.14 This is shown in the chart. We should not only look at where these foods are produced, but also where the consumer demand is coming from. It also estimates that 46% of the worlds trees have been cleared over the past 12,000 years. The total cut down so far is over 470 million trees since January 1st. Its domestic demand, not international trade, that is the main driver of deforestation. Scheffers, B. R., Joppa, L. N., Pimm, S. L., & Laurance, W. F. (2012). Thats one football field of forest lost every single second around the clock. 38. According to CNN, each year over 1,000 plants and animal species go extinct due to deforestation and subsequent habitat loss. People cut down 15 billion trees each year and the global tree count has fallen by 46% since the beginning of human civilization. Which countries are gaining, and which are losing forest? This is also true for major economies such as China and India. 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. 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%. 71% of this is driven by demand in domestic markets, and the remaining 29% for the production of products that are traded. How many trees are cut down each year? Forests: this data is primarily sourced from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). If we want to end deforestation we need to understand where and why its happening; where countries are within their transition; and what can be done to accelerate their progress through it. Since agriculture is responsible for 60 to 80% of it, what we eat, where its sourced from, and how it is produced is our strongest lever to bring deforestation to an end. But international markets alone cannot fix this problem. This interactive map shows deforestation rates across the world. The same is true of the United States; back in 1630 46% of the area of todays USA was covered by forest. Imagine some temperate country was responsible for the deforestation of 25,000 hectares in tropical countries but was restoring its own forests at a rate of 50,000 hectares per year. The rate of deforestation is declining, but we still lost forests at a whopping 10 million hectares per year between 2015-2020. High-income countries were the largest importers of deforestation, accounting for 40% of it. That depends on who you ask, but we do know that around 47 million hectares of primary forest were lost between 2000 and 2020. 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. How many trees are chopped down for Christmas? A new study published in Nature estimates the planet has 3.04 trillion trees. Rudel, T. K. (1998). Each year, an estimated 15 billion trees are cut down around the world. Is there a forest transition? Brazil, in contrast, caused more deforestation domestically in the production of goods for other countries than it imported from elsewhere. The researchs results are This number comes from the World Bank, which estimates that there are 3 trillion trees on the planet. International trade plays an important role in this growth, and may allow farmers to see the yield gains they need to produce more food using less land. Historical data pre-1990 is sourced from Michael Williams book, Deforesting the Earth: from prehistory to global crisis. There is some bad news, though: that number is likely to increase by 20% by 2023. Each year, an estimated 15 billion trees are cut down around the world. Humanitys biggest footprint is due to what we eat, not where we live. Imagine over 100 large harvesters working non-stop. The rate of population growth tends to slow down. See the distribution of global forests and which countries have the most forest cover. Many countries have not only ended deforestation, but actually achieved substantial reforestation. WebThe UN FAO estimate that 10 million hectares of forest were cut down each year. It breaks the change in forests into four stages, explained by two variables: the amount of forest cover a region has, and the annual change in cover (how quickly it is losing or gaining forest).15. The research says 15.3 billion trees are chopped down every year. Stage 4 The Post-Transition phase is when countries have passed the transition point and are now gaining forest again. 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. This gives us an indication of the impact of the average persons diet. Forestry Commission. People cut down 15 billion trees each year and the global tree count has fallen by 46% since the beginning of human civilization. Hence, we should keep in mind that forest area is not the only aspect that matters where that forest is and how rich in life it is matters too. In Latin America and Southeast Asia in particular, commodity-driven deforestation mainly the clearance of forests to grow crops such as palm oil and soy, and pasture for beef production accounts for almost two-thirds of forest loss. [2] Only 36% of the world's rainforests remain intact. 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%. This is measured in hectares, which is equivalent to 10,000 m. Deforestation in Africa is mainly driven by local populations and markets; only 9% of its emissions are exported. Deforestation is the complete removal of trees for the conversion of forest to another land use such as agriculture, mining, or towns and cities. Global Environmental Change, 15(1), 23-31. WebThe UN FAO estimate that 10 million hectares of forest were cut down each year. As to the number of trees this represents, its impossible to get an accurate count. Stage 3 The Late Transition phase is when deforestation rates start to slow down again. Thats more than the countrys CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, which are around 2.2 tonnes per person. Imagine over 100 large harvesters working non-stop. More than 7 million hectares of forest, or 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees, are cut down every year because of deforestation. Do rich countries import deforestation from overseas? 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. 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? Most of todays richest countries all of Europe, North America, Japan, South Korea have passed the turning point and are now regaining forest. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited. 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. 95% of the worlds deforestation occurs in the tropics [we look at this breakdown again later]. The United States is the worlds largest consumer (and second largest producer, after Canada) of forest products. Tropical forests are often more productive than temperate forests, meaning they store more carbon. And, we might place more value on preserving primary, native forests that havent yet been deforested over regrowing forests that have lost their previous ecosystems. An area the size of the United States. This follows the classic forest transition model with development, which we look at in more detail in a related article. An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation drivers in developing countries. WebEvery year from 2011-2015 about 20 million hectares of forest was cut down. 432). In the United States, thats about 34 million trees cut down each year just for paper. Estimates vary, but on average only 10-20% of carbon is lost during logging, and 10-30% from fires.27 In a study of logging practices in the Amazon and Congo, forests retained 76% of their carbon stocks shortly after logging.28 Logged forests recover their carbon over time, as long as the land is not converted to other uses (which is what happens in the case of deforestation). That was 6.5% of global CO2 emissions.35. Humans have already destroyed around 46% of the trees on Earth. 95% of global deforestation occurs in the tropics. 14% of deforestation is driven by consumers in the worlds richest countries we import beef, vegetable oils, cocoa, coffee and paper that has been produced on deforested land.12. Rudel, T. K., Coomes, O. T., Moran, E., Achard, F., Angelsen, A., Xu, J., & Lambin, E. (2005). Luxembourg has the largest footprint at nearly three tonnes per person. In the first half of the 20th century, temperate forests reached their peak loss at 34 million hectares per decade, and by 1990 they had passed the forest transition point. The scale of deforestation today might give us little hope for protecting our diverse forests. According to the Environmental Paper Network, an estimated 30% of felled trees are used for paper products. Rural Sociology, 63(4), 533-552. But the solution is not so simple. But, the fact that forest transitions are possible should give us confidence that a positive future is possible. Global deforestation reached its peak in the 1980s. 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. Global Environmental Change, 56, 1-10. Since there is often year-to-year variability in deforestation or reforestation rates, this is shown as the five-year average. (2017) estimate that the average EU diet, excluding deforestation, is responsible for 0.5 tonnes CO2 per person. The research says 15.3 billion trees are chopped down every year. That means that each year, one percent of all trees are being destroyed. Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations. How many trees have been cut down? The amount of land per person that was needed to produce enough food was not small in fact, it was much larger than today. 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. FAO. Within this global aggregated trend there are many forest transitions at local, national or regional levels occurring. We see this in the chart. This interactive map shows deforestation rates across the world. Our World in Data is free and accessible for everyone. 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? 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. To do this, they quantified where deforestation was occurring due to the expansion of croplands, pasture and tree plantations (for logging), and what commodities were produced on this converted land. 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. Data from 1990 onwards is sourced from the UNs 2020 Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020.References:Williams, M. (2003). It provides long-term estimates on forest cover in 10,000 and 5,000 years BP. estimate a 35% loss of global forest cover since 10,000. Some interesting facts state that every second, 1.5 acres of wood are cut down, University of Chicago Press.FAO (2020). Many rich countries are driving deforestation in other parts of the world, but are regrowing forests domestically. This is nearly always true of planted forests in temperate regions there, planted forests are long-established and do not replace primary existing forests. After long periods of forest clearance in the past, most of todays richest countries are increasing tree cover through afforestation. For the past 30 years, temperate regions have seen a continued increase in forest cover through afforestation: you see this as the bars are now positive (pointing upwards). 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). Why? International trade is important for socioeconomic development. 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. Thats both an economic and environmental win. There are other aspects to consider. But this is no longer the case: forest loss across North America and Europe is now the result of harvesting forestry products from tree plantations, or tree loss in wildfires. Agricultural and urban land: The UN FAO Statistical database provides data on global agricultural and urban land from 1961 onwards. Across the US and Europe the breakdown of products is more varied. Just over one-quarter of global forest loss is driven by deforestation. By Georgina Rannard. 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. This diagram is adapted from the work of Hosonuma et al. In their analysis of global forest loss, Philip Curtis and colleagues used satellite images to assess where and why the world lost forests between 2001 and 2015. How much do people in rich countries contribute to deforestation overseas? But a small global population overall meant there was little pressure on forests to make space for land to grow food, and as wood for energy. Since 2016, an average of 28 million hectares have been cut down every year. Explore more of our work on Forests and Deforestation, Anthropogenic Biomes: 10,000 BCE to 2015 CE, The course and drivers of the forest transition: the case of France, The relationships of population and forest trends, An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation drivers in developing countries, Increasing human dominance of tropical forests, Proactive conservation to prevent habitat losses to agricultural expansion, Forest transition theory and the reforesting of Scotland, Is there a forest transition? 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. WebHealthy trees mean: Healthy people: 100 trees remove 53 tons of carbon dioxide and 430 pounds of other air pollutants per year. But forest cover increases through reforestation. 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. 82,000 trees are cut down every year to make 14 billion traditional wooden pencils. Not all forest is equal. But not all of it is to produce products for local markets. 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. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8753en. 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. As to the number of trees this represents, its impossible to get an accurate count. 38. 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. It might seem odd to argue that we should focus our efforts on tackling this quarter of forest loss (rather than the other 73%). (2020).References:FAO and UNEP. 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. Help us do this work by making a donation. Still, more than half of the worlds habitable land was forested. Rome. It would be good if there was data available that would capture these additional aspects. Deforesting the earth: from prehistory to global crisis. But by studying how forests have changed over time, theres good reason to think that a way forward is possible. Across sub-tropical countries we have a mix: many upper-middle income countries are now in the late transition phase. The researchs results are The change is temporary. Healthy environment: One hundred mature trees catch about 139,000 gallons of rainwater per year. 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. 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Experiences short-term disturbance but if left alone is likely to increase how many trees are cut down each year %... 10 million hectares per year: 100 trees remove 53 tons of per!, excluding deforestation, is responsible for 0.5 tonnes CO2 per person are credited also that. Fallen by 46 % of it is to produce products for local markets )! About 20 million hectares per year you have the most forest cover per person are possible should give little... Across sub-tropical countries we have a mix: many upper-middle income countries increasing! Co2 emissions from fossil fuels, which we look at where these are.: 100 trees remove 53 tons of carbon per unit area.26 humans have already around... Many trees are cut down each year, an average of 28 million of... Have been cleared over the last century passed the Transition point and are now gaining forest again urban land 1961. Fix this problem us an indication of the worlds deforestation occurs in the tropics [ we at... State that every second, 1.5 acres of wood are cut down year. Is also true for major economies such as China and India this data is primarily from. Hundred mature trees catch about 139,000 gallons of rainwater per year between 2015-2020 FAO that. Whopping 10 million hectares have been cut down each year?, Pimm, how many trees are cut down each year,!
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