How does deforestation contribute to the greenhouse effect?

Answer 1

Trees clean the air.

Answer 2

Mountain Bear has the right idea about how to combat the greenhouse effect, but is confused about now deforestation really affects the greenhouse effect.

The greenhouse effect works a lot like a good blanket. Sunlight enters the earth's atmosphere and hits the ground turning the light into thermal heat. When the heat rises greenhouse gasses (Mostly Carbon Dioxide, water vapor and ozone) work like the blanket and keep the heat in.

Normally, this is a good thing. If we didn't have an atmosphere, the earth would be too cold. However, humans have effected the levels of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere.

Trees help to combat global warming in two ways. First, they are huge and made mostly of carbon. So, all that carbon in the tree is kept out of the atmosphere, and therefore doesn't contribute to the greenhouse effect. The second way trees help contribute to the greenhouse effect is by growing! To go through photosynthesis and grow, trees take CO2 out of the air and fixate it to make sugars and other carbohydrates that make up the tree. Again, less CO2 in the air, less of a "Blanket" and less heat kept in.

When we cut down trees, we are killing one of the few ways we can actually take CO2 out of the air. A bigger problem is when we slash and burn, such as in the amazon, where we not only cut down and kill the tree, but we also burn it, releasing lots and lots of CO2 into the atmosphere and holding more heat on the earth.

Trees have nothing to do with the Ozone layer, unlike what some of the earlier answers thought.

Answer 3

Forests act as a major carbon store because carbon dioxide (CO2) is taken up from the atmosphere and used to produce the carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that make up the tree. When forests are cleared, and the trees are either burnt or rot, this carbon is released as CO2. This leads to an increase in the atmospheric CO2 concentration. CO2 is the major contributor to the greenhouse effect. It is estimated that deforestation contributes one-third of all CO2 releases caused by people.

Answer 4

Trees are carbon sinks. Hence when you cut them down you are releasing carbon into the atmosphere (even moreso if you burn them)
At the same time living trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air.
So you have a duplicate effect of eliminating something that removes a greenhouse gas, as well as adding a greenhouse gas to the atmosphere.

Answer 5

The greenhouse effect is caused in part by carbon dioxide. Plants, such as trees, absorb carbon dioxide gas during photosynthesis. Cut down the trees (deforest) and you reduce the number of plants that are absorbing carbon dioxide for the atmosphere, thus the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, in turn increasing the greenhouse effect.

Answer 6

Because trees are the major source of oxygen generating plants on the planet. All living plants use nitrogen and create oxygen in varying degrees. We people put off nitrogen when we breath out, our cars do as well as do all electrical appliances, gas appliances and machines, etc.

So we need lots of living plants to use up the nitrogen and produce the oxygen we breath. As forests are destroyed for their wood there are less plants to create oxygen for all the worlds living animals, and us humans.

The green house affect is when too much nitrogen causes the ozone, the protective barrier that keeps oxygen from leaving the earth to be burned up in outer space. Over the years our ozone has become thinner, creating the green house affect and so the world is warning up.

You can help stop the green house affect by using energy saving lights that are better for mother earth. You can plant plants in your yard and trees. You can recycle plastics and other recycable items. Home builders can instead of paying drive ways, use other materials that allow the earth to cool off and don't put off heat like asphalt does. Many cities are actively beginning to realize that when you cover over the earth with buildings, and cement, asphalt it contributes to the greenhouse affect. Some are not building buildings with gardens on the roots, this lowers the heat the building puts off, having cities with lots of trees and other plants helps as well.

Some lumber companies now are doing better by not cutting down whole forests and leaving what is called old growth behind, they harvest so many trees and for each tree they harvest, they come back and plant so many baby frees to replace it, while leaving a large portion of the older trees. Then they agree not to go back and cut down trees in that forrest again until the baby trees are ten to thirty years old, depending on the type of trees.

Some poeple say no trees should be harvested for wood, but you don't need to do that if lumber companies do conservitive cutting and make sure they plant new trees in place of the ones they take.

It is said that one human being needs four adult trees to produce their oxygen requirements for a day.

When I was young, they went in and cut whole forests down, destroying and leaving the land a waist place. In most of the USA and other industrialized countries that is no longer allowed.

As people can afford to purchase Hybrid cars that will help the green house affect. Turning off lights when you are not using them helps. It's the little things that will do the most to reverse the damage done to the Ozone and stop the greenhouse affect. Everyone doing what little they can, will make a difference.

Answer 7

Two ways. Less trees to change carbon monoxide to Oxygen and in the Rain Forest, they BURN all the trees and the smoke does have an effect on the greenhouse effect.

Answer 8

trees absorb harmful greenhouse gases (e.g. carbon dioxide) for phosynthesis.

in other words, no trees, thinner ozone layer.

Answer 9

Trees absorb harmful greenhouse gases that deplete the ozone layer.

Answer 10

because trees take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen