Question

Explain how deforestation affects the lithosphere?

Answer 1

Lithosphere is defined as the uppermost surface of the earth, being composed of crust and upper mantle. It makes up the hard and rigid outer layer of the earth and are further subdivided into tectonic plates.

Complete answer:
Deforestation is defined as the removal of forest cover or vegetation from a particular area and utilizing it for the development of farms, ranches or other commercial uses. The major causes of deforestation are quite a few such as industrial logging, commercial agriculture, population growth, urbanization, globalization, etc. one of the major effects of deforestation is climate change and global warming . Deforestation is said to be one of the major causes of greenhouse effect as it causes carbon dioxide to linger in the atmosphere. This results in the formation of a layer in the atmosphere trapping the solar radiation which results in global warming.

Another major effect of deforestation is soil erosion. Due to absence of trees the soil becomes loose, low in nutrients and is easily subjected to surface runoff and also landslides. Deforestation affects the ecosystem greatly, due to removal of forest covers the environment and the biodiversity is affected badly as there is major loss of habitat.

Note: Deforestation not only has a negative impact on the environment but also on the health of the public. As a result of deforestation there has been an increase in occurrence of disease outbreaks throughout the world. Few of the forest associated diseases are chagas disease, malaria, lyme disease, etc.