Deforestation causes an increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Fewer trees and plants mean that less carbon dioxide is filtered. Trees also store carbon dioxide, so when they are burnt after being cut down for deforestation, they release those stores back into the environment. As a result, deforestation plays a major part in the Green House effect as carbon dioxide is a key gas in the process that forces our atmosphere to heat up to levels deemed dangerous for our environment.
Trees use their roots to draw water up through the earth and disperse it throughout the area in a process known as transpiration. In areas like the Amazon rain forest, trees contain half the water in the area. When an area is deforested, the land becomes drier and more susceptible to problems such as erosion and mud slides.
When large forests are burned or cut down, many other plants are affected by the destruction. Some of these plants have been known to hold the key to certain medicines and treatments. These plants are now lost to us, possibly forever. There are currently over 121 different kinds of medicines created from plant products.
Deforestation causes the local animal population to be affected as much as the land and surrounding plant life. There are many species of animals that call these forest areas home, and when the forests are destroyed the animals that live there are either killed during the destruction or end up starving to death because they are not able to adapt quickly enough to the new environment. Several species of monkeys and birds indigenous to rainforests in the Amazon have had to migrate to cities where they are considered pests.