what are the main sources of wood consumption? ie. deforestation trees being mostly used for......?

Question

if you could back this up with credible stats id really appreciate it

thank you

5 points to a good answer!

Answer 1

Mike above me is mostly right, but I would like to elaborate.

The primary cause of deforestation is the conversion of natural forests into farmland. The primary source of wood consumption worldwide however is for fuel, to cook food and heat homes. Around half of all wood harvested worldwide (around 1700 million cubic meters) is used for fuel. The other half is used for industrial purposes (lumber, paper, etc). The US is another story, most of our wood consumption is for industrial products.

I'm too lazy to dig up all your stats, but I've included links to the organizations and books that have them, particularly, see the FAO (food and agriculture organization for the UN). Also, the world wildlife fund is doing some interesting things to help slow down deforestation.

It is also important to note that the the number of forested acres in the U.S. has stayed relatively static for the last hundred years, and net growth has outpaced harvest for the last 70 years, those stats are from the USDA Forest Service (link below).

Answer 2

It depends on where you are taking about. The greatest deforestation right now is in Brazil and the trees are cut and burned to make short use farm land because the soil isn't very good. In other places, forest is being cut to expand urban living areas.

Answer 3

Furnitures, homes(which are expensive because woods are not easy to find now), burning, PAPER, trucks, pencils...et cetera...