Question

How does deforestation lead to frequent floods and droughts?

Answer 1

Deforestation is a condition in which the land area which was earlier filled with trees and plants is turned into a land with no trees and plants. This occurs due to regular cutting of trees and not planting enough trees in their replacement.

Complete answer:
Deforestation is a condition where there is the absence of trees and plants on the land. Deforestation occurs due to the greed of the humans who cut the trees in the area for their use and for filling their greed. As these areas remain barren without any plants or trees, the soil quality of these areas decreases with time. The water holding capacity of the soil decreases due to the absence of the trees. This leads to drought-like conditions in these areas. the soil loses all its fertility and becomes a barren land where the cultivation of crops cannot take place. when there is the presence of excess rain in these land areas the soil is unable to hold the water and it leads to the surface run-off and sometimes it leads to serious conditions like the floods. In the presence of the trees, the soil is able to hold water due to the presence of the roots of the plants and prevents conditions like floods and surface run-off from happening.

Note: Deforestation leads to frequent floods and droughts. It happens because the soil loses its fertility over time and also water holding capacity of the soil gets reduced. In the presence of trees, the soil has a high water-holding capacity and it reduces the risk of floods in the heavy rainfall.