Deforestation and Subsequent Side Effects
Soil Erosion
Deforestation leads to accelerating rates of soil erosion. Why should we care? Well, soil erosion is a big problem, although it is often overlooked. This loss of topsoil is very devastating, because topsoil is where most plants get their nutrients from, and contains high fertility and organic matter.
Soil erosion is the direct outcome of deforestation. If you remove trees, the topsoil will be uprooted and fertility of the soil will be lost.
Brazil loses 55 million tons of topsoil each year for agricultural purposes. Scientists have concurred that ⅓ of the world’s topsoil has been lost since 1960. Each year, we lose 10 million hectares of topsoil. That is about 25 million acres per year!
Results of Soil Erosion
When topsoil is lost, the soil can be carried off to irrigation water, which in turn leads to sedimentation in coastal areas. Sedimentation greatly impacts wildlife. There has been many reports of population loss of fish and other marine wildlife where sedimentation occurs. Sedimentation disrupts biodiversity and the sustainability of an ecosystem.
Soil erosion is not something that should be taken lightly. The soil on our Earth contains a lot of important nutrients that enable plants to survive, which in turn greatly impacts us humans. This precious soil has taken millions of years to form, and research has shown that soil is formed at a rate of only 1 cm every 100 to 400 years. In addition, it takes up to 3,000 to 12,000 years to build enough soil to form productive land.
Furthermore, soil erosion that is caused by deforestation leads to increased amounts of flooding. When the land is cleared for agricultural purposes and it rains, the soil can not hold large amounts of water due to the loss of topsoil, which leads to flooding.
You can say that soil is a nonrenewable resource that is being lost at alarming rates.
