You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited. The definition of forest can vary depending on aspects such as tree density and height. The amount of land per person that was needed to produce enough food was not small in fact, it was much larger than today. Environmental Research Letters, 7(4), 044009. The amount of land used for agriculture land to grow crops as well as grazing land for livestock was expanding. The total cut down so far is over 470 million trees since January 1st. Please consult our full legal disclaimer. People cut down 15 billion trees each year and the global tree count has fallen by 46% since the beginning of human civilization. WebEvery year from 2011-2015 about 20 million hectares of forest was cut down. But there is good reason to make this our primary concern. Forest Transitions: why do we lose then regain forests? Forest loss measures the net change in forest cover: the loss in forests due to deforestation plus any expansion of forest through afforestation.6. WebHealthy trees mean: Healthy people: 100 trees remove 53 tons of carbon dioxide and 430 pounds of other air pollutants per year. The course and drivers of the forest transition: the case of France. Science, 349(6250), 827-832. As I mentioned earlier, 14% of deforestation today is driven by consumers in rich countries. This might put the responsibility for ending deforestation solely on tropical countries. theyre driving deforestation elsewhere; whilst many subtropical countries are partly cutting down trees to meet this demand from rich countries. The net change in forest cover measures any gains in forest cover either through natural forest expansion or afforestation through tree-planting minus deforestation. University of Chicago Press.FAO (2020). Scottish Geographical Journal, 120(1-2), 83-98. An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation drivers in developing countries. The study also finds that human activity negatively affects tree abundance from the boreal forests to the equator. WebHealthy trees mean: Healthy people: 100 trees remove 53 tons of carbon dioxide and 430 pounds of other air pollutants per year. Deforestation and forest degradation are responsible for around 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Americans cut down 15,094,678 Christmas trees in 2017, according to the most recent year of data from the U.S. Agriculture Department. People cut down 15 billion trees each year and the global tree count has fallen by 46% since the beginning of human civilization. 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 explains historical trends we see for countries across the world today. Rather than looking at total figures by country [if youre interested, we have mapped them here] we have calculated the per capita footprint. We need more fuelwood to cook, more houses to live in, and importantly, more food to eat. 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. The UK imported 34,000 hectares of deforestation but increased its domestic forests by only 19,000 hectares. It assumes the impact of clearing primary rainforest in the Amazon to produce soybeans is the same as logging planted forests in the UK. All the software and code that we write is open source and made available via GitHub under the permissive MIT license. But, supply chains are international. Is there a forest transition? Note that in this study, the category of subsistence agriculture was classified as a deforestation driver, and so is not included. Noriko Hosonuma et al. [4] Forests cover 4.06 billion hectares (just less than 31%) of How many trees are lost to deforestation each year? Not only would this be bad for people, it might also be bad for forests. A new study published in Nature estimates the planet has 3.04 trillion trees. (2017) estimate that the average EU diet, excluding deforestation, is responsible for 0.5 tonnes CO2 per person. Some of the worlds poorest countries are still in the pre-transition phase. The biodiversity of managed tree plantations which are periodically cut, regrown, cut again, then regrown is not the same. As to the number of trees this represents, its impossible to get an accurate count. Imported emissions are also high for Taiwan, Belgium and the Netherlands at around one tonne. What activities are driving this? Cuaresma, J. C., Danylo, O., Fritz, S., McCallum, I., Obersteiner, M., See, L., & Walsh, B. How Many Acres of Trees Are Cut Down Each Year? Nearly all 95% of this deforestation occurs in the tropics. This gives us an indication of the impact of the average persons diet. Improvements in crop yields mean the per capita demand for agricultural land continues to fall. All of our charts can be embedded in any site. 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. The study also finds that human activity negatively affects tree abundance from the boreal forests to the equator. Explore global data on soy production, how its used, and how much deforestation is caused by its expansion. Because people are starting to see how climate change affects trees. Web3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are cut down per year. This diagram is adapted from the work of Hosonuma et al. I have reconstructed long-term data using various studies which Ive documented here. Many countries have followed this classic U-shaped pattern. 95% of this occurs in the tropics. Decisionmakers could give as much of our attention to European logging as to destruction of the Amazon. The story of both soy and palm oil are complex and its not obvious that eliminating these products will fix the problem. Not all forest is equal. Then things started to speed up. In Latin America and Asia the dominant driver of degradation was logging for products such as timber, paper and pulp this accounted for more than 70%. When we treat these impacts equally we make it difficult to prioritize our efforts in the fight against deforestation. 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. Within this global aggregated trend there are many forest transitions at local, national or regional levels occurring. By Georgina Rannard. Forests still cover about 30 percent of the worlds land area, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate. How many trees are chopped down for Christmas? How many trees are cut down each year?. 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. These are big numbers, and important ones to track: forest loss creates a number of negative impacts, ranging from carbon emissions to species extinctions and biodiversity loss. 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. How Many Acres of Trees Are Cut Down Each Year? But forest cover increases through reforestation. 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. Global deforestation peaked in the 1980s. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, reducing meat and dairy intake particularly beef and lamb has the largest impact. How many trees does IKEA cut down a There is little forest left. The world has lost one-third of its forests, but an end of deforestation is possible. Lewis, S. L., Edwards, D. P., & Galbraith, D. (2015). That depends on who you ask, but we do know that around 47 million hectares of primary forest were lost between 2000 and 2020. Americans cut down 15,094,678 Christmas trees in 2017, according to the most recent year of data from the U.S. Agriculture Department. 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. In 2012 the mid-year of this period global emissions from fossil fuels, industry and land use change was 40.2 billion tonnes. The research says 15.3 billion trees are chopped down every year. Global Environmental Change, 56, 1-10. There is a marked divide in the state of the worlds forests. But when forests are cut, burned or otherwise removed they emit carbon instead of absorb carbon. 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. [4] Forests cover 4.06 billion hectares (just less than 31%) of Stage 2 The Early Transition phase is when countries start to lose forests very rapidly. Across the US and Europe the breakdown of products is more varied. 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. Still, more than half of the worlds habitable land was forested. Low agricultural productivity and a reliance on wood for fuel meant that large amounts of land had to be cleared for basic provisions. WebEvery year from 2011-2015 about 20 million hectares of forest was cut down. There are two reasons that we cut down forests: Our demand for both of these initially increases as populations grow and poor people get richer. 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. 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. Then things started to speed up. The State of the Worlds Forests 2020. Humans have already destroyed around 46% of the trees on Earth. The default is shown for Brazil, but you can explore the data for a range of countries using the Change country button. National Inventory of Woodland and Trees, England (2001). This interactive map shows deforestation rates across the world. Notarnicola et al. Because people are starting to see how climate change affects trees. Global forest resources. 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). As to the number of trees this represents, its impossible to get an accurate count. Africa is also different here. Humanitys biggest footprint is due to what we eat, not where we live. 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. Environmental Research Letters, 14(5), 055003. The same is true of the United States; back in 1630 46% of the area of todays USA was covered by forest. 2020. Rural Sociology, 63(4), 533-552. Forest transitions: towards a global understanding of land use change. 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. A study published on September 2, 2015 in the journal Nature suggests these answers: 3 trillion and 15.3 billion. Are they causing more deforestation elsewhere than they are regenerating in forests at home? 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. 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. It was a net exporter. 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. Carbon emissions from deforestation: are they driven by domestic demand or international trade? Some interesting facts state that every second, 1.5 acres of wood are cut down, It might seem odd to argue that we should focus our efforts on tackling this quarter of forest loss (rather than the other 73%). How many trees are lost to deforestation each year? Thats one football field of forest lost every single second around the clock. For example, Ellis et al. Countries using the change country button the loss in forests at home the permission to use, distribute and. The case of France in forests due to deforestation plus any expansion of forest can vary depending aspects. Could give as much of our attention to European logging as to the equator 95 % of this deforestation in... How much deforestation is possible dairy intake particularly beef and lamb has the largest impact medium, provided the and... Deforestation rates across the world has lost one-third of its forests, but an end deforestation... 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