Deforestation is the process of removing trees and changing forested land into areas used for other purposes, such as farming, ranching, or building cities. Today, about 31% of Earth’s land is covered by forests. This is about one-third less than the amount of forest that existed before large-scale farming began, with half of that loss happening in the last 100 years. On average, 2,400 trees are cut down every minute. The amount of deforestation in tropical regions varies widely. In 2019, nearly one-third of all tree loss, or 3.8 million hectares, occurred in humid tropical primary forests. These forests are mature rainforests that are especially important for protecting wildlife and storing carbon.
Agriculture is the main cause of deforestation. In 2025, nearly 90% of global deforestation was linked to farming, with expanding farmland and creating pastures for livestock as the primary reasons. This percentage increased from over 80% in 2012. Forests are often cleared to grow crops like coffee, palm oil, and rubber. Livestock grazing also contributes to deforestation. Other causes include logging for wood, urban development, and mining. Climate change also plays a role by increasing the risk of wildfires.
Deforestation destroys habitats, leading to the loss of plant and animal species. It also causes changes in local weather patterns, forces Indigenous people to leave their homes, and creates problems like desertification and soil erosion. Deforestation reduces the ability of forests to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which limits their role in slowing climate change. Forests are important for agriculture because climate change threatens food production.
Since 1990, it is estimated that over 420 million hectares of forest have been lost due to land use changes. However, the rate of deforestation has slowed in the past 30 years. Between 2015 and 2020, deforestation occurred at a rate of 10 million hectares per year, compared to 16 million hectares per year in the 1990s. The total area of primary forests worldwide has decreased by more than 80 million hectares since 1990. Over 100 million hectares of forests are harmed by wildfires, pests, diseases, invasive species, drought, and extreme weather events.
Definition
Deforestation is the act of changing forest land into other types of land, such as farmland or cities, no matter if people cause it or not.
Deforestation and net change in forest area are different. Net change refers to the total result of all forest areas lost (from deforestation) and all forest areas gained (from new forest growth) during a certain time. This total can be positive if more forest is gained than lost, or negative if more forest is lost than gained.
Current status by continent, region, country
The world has 4.14 billion hectares of forest, which covers 32% of all land. This is about 0.50 hectares of forest for each person. The tropical region has the largest share of the world’s forests (45%), followed by boreal, temperate, and subtropical regions. Europe has the largest forest area, making up 25% of the world’s total. South America has the highest percentage of forest, with 49% of its land covered by forests. More than half (54%) of the world’s forests are in five countries: Russia, Brazil, Canada, the United States of America, and China.
The rate of forest loss decreased globally from 10.7 million hectares per year between 1990–2000 to 3.68 million hectares per year in 2000–2015. This was mainly due to increases in forest area in Canada, China, Russia, and the United States of America. However, the rate of forest loss increased again from 2015–2025, reaching 4.12 million hectares per year. This happened because the growth of new forests slowed down.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that global forest carbon storage decreased by 0.9%, and tree cover decreased by 4.2% from 1990 to 2020.
As of 2019, scientists disagree about whether the world’s forests are shrinking. While tree cover in tropical regions is decreasing, it is increasing in temperate and boreal forests.
Deforestation, which happens naturally or because of human activities, remains a major problem. Between 2000 and 2012, 2.3 million square kilometers of forests were lost. Deforestation and forest damage continue at high rates, harming biodiversity.
Forest area increased in Asia from 1990 to 2025, but the growth slowed in recent years. Europe also saw increases, as did parts of North and Central America. However, forest area decreased in Africa and South America since 1990, though the loss slowed in both regions by 2025.
An estimated 489 million hectares of forest have been lost worldwide since 1990. The rate of loss has slowed: it was 10.9 million hectares per year in 2015–2025, down from 13.6 million hectares per year in 2000–2015 and 17.6 million hectares per year in 1990–2000. The growth of new forests also slowed, from 9.88 million hectares per year in 2000–2015 to 6.78 million hectares per year in 2015–2025.
Deforestation is most severe in tropical and subtropical forests in developing countries. More than half of all plant and land animal species live in tropical forests. Only 6.2 million square kilometers of tropical rainforest remain today, compared to the original 16 million square kilometers. In 2018, 3.6 million hectares of untouched tropical forest were lost.
The world loses about 10 billion trees each year. According to the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020, the average annual deforestation rate between 2015–2020 was 10 million hectares. Between 2000–2010, the average annual net forest loss was 4.7 million hectares. Since 1990, the world has lost 178 million hectares of forest, an area about the size of Libya.
In 2021, studies showed that trade, production, and consumption patterns influence deforestation. For example, people in G7 countries use about 3.9 trees per person each year, which can be linked to importing products like coffee.
In 2023, Global Forest Watch reported a 9% decrease in tropical primary forest loss compared to the previous year. However, increases in other regions led to a 3.2% rise in global deforestation. Wildfires in Canada, worsened by climate change, caused a 24% increase in global tree cover loss. This highlights the risks to forests that store carbon and support biodiversity.
The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (2022) stated that over 420 million hectares of forest were lost to deforestation between 1990 and 2020. More than 90% of this loss occurred in tropical areas, threatening biodiversity, environmental services, and the livelihoods of forest communities.
Global deforestation increased sharply around 1852. By 1947, the world had 15 to 16 million square kilometers of mature tropical forests, but by 2015, about half had been destroyed. Tropical rainforest coverage dropped from 14% to 6%. Much of this loss happened between 1960 and 1990, when 20% of all tropical rainforests were destroyed. At this rate, tropical forests could disappear by the mid-21st century.
In the early 2000s, scientists warned that without global efforts to protect old-growth forests, only 10% of tropical forests might remain by 2030, with another 10% in poor condition. This would mean losing 80% of these forests and countless species.
Estimates of tropical deforestation vary. In 2019, the world lost nearly 12 million hectares of tree cover, with 3.8 million hectares in humid tropical primary forests. This is equivalent to losing a football field-sized area of primary forest every six seconds.
A 2002 study using satellite images suggested that deforestation rates in the humid tropics were 23% lower than commonly reported. A 2005 FAO report noted that global deforestation slowed, but satellite images showed Amazon deforestation was twice as fast as previously estimated.
From 2010 to 2015, global forest area decreased by 3.
Causes
Agriculture is the main cause of deforestation and the breaking up of forests, which harms forest plants and animals. In 2025, nearly 90% of all deforestation worldwide was linked to agriculture, with expanding farmland and creating pastures for animals being the main reasons. Between 2000 and 2010, large-scale farming (like raising cattle and growing soybeans and oil palms) caused 40% of tropical deforestation, while farming for local food needs caused another 33%. Trees are cut down for building materials, timber, or sold as fuel (like charcoal or firewood), and the cleared land is used for raising livestock and growing crops.
Most farming that causes deforestation is supported by government taxes. Not valuing forests properly, weak forest management, and poor environmental laws are some reasons for large-scale deforestation.
The causes of deforestation vary by region. Central and South America have the most deforestation for raising livestock and growing crops, while Southeast Asia has the most deforestation from growing crops like palm oil. Sub-Saharan Africa has the most deforestation from shifting agriculture, where farmers move to new areas after farming.
Agriculture is the main direct cause of deforestation. Farming for local needs causes 48% of deforestation; commercial farming causes 32%; logging causes 14%; and cutting trees for fuel causes 5%.
In 2018, more than 80% of deforestation was linked to agriculture. Forests are turned into plantations for products like coffee, tea, palm oil, rice, and rubber. The growing demand for these products and global trade lead to forests being cleared, which causes soil erosion. When forests are removed, topsoil often erodes, increasing sediment in rivers and streams.
Most deforestation happens in tropical regions. About 38% of the world’s land is used for agriculture.
Since 1960, about 15% of the Amazon rainforest has been cleared to grow crops. Brazil has become the world’s largest beef exporter at the same time the Amazon is being cut down.
A common method of deforestation is slash-and-burn agriculture, used by small farmers in tropical areas. This method burns small forest areas to grow crops, but it is not sustainable. Farmers use the nutrients from burned plants, but fires can spread uncontrollably, destroying forests. Repeated use of this method reduces plant growth and soil health. Small plots used for farming allow for longer recovery periods, reducing overall deforestation and keeping carbon dioxide levels stable.
In the Amazon, beef production is the main cause of deforestation, with 80% of cleared land used for raising cattle. About 91% of Amazon land deforested since 1970 has been turned into cattle ranches.
Raising livestock needs large areas of land for grazing and growing feed. According to the World Wildlife Fund, "Extensive cattle ranching is the main cause of deforestation in nearly every Amazon country, and it accounts for 80% of current deforestation."
The cattle industry produces a lot of methane because 60% of all mammals are cows. Replacing forests with pastures increases greenhouse gas emissions from burning and land changes.
Over 100 million trees are cut down yearly for junk mail in the United States. This practice is allowed to help fund the U.S. Postal Service.
The lumber industry also contributes to deforestation. About 4 million hectares of forest are cut each year for timber, or about 1.3% of all forest land. Demand for cheap wood products encourages continued logging.
Experts disagree on whether industrial logging is a major cause of deforestation. Some say poor people clear forests because they have no other choices, while others say they lack the money to clear land.
Other causes of deforestation include government corruption, unequal wealth and power, population growth, and urbanization. The impact of population growth on deforestation is debated. A study found that high fertility rates were a main cause of deforestation in only 8% of cases. In 2000, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said, "The role of population growth in deforestation can vary from very important to almost none," and that deforestation often results from "a mix of population pressure and slow economic, social, and technological progress."
Globalization is sometimes seen as a cause of deforestation, but in some cases, it has helped forests recover locally.
Forest ecosystems are harmed by economic reasons that make cutting down forests more profitable than protecting them. Many forest benefits, like clean water and soil, are not sold in markets, so their value is not obvious to landowners or communities.
Some experts say the reasons for deforestation have changed over the past 30 years. In the past, deforestation was mainly from small-scale farming and government projects like moving people to new areas. By the 1990s, most deforestation was caused by large industries, like mining and farming. Since 2001, deforestation driven by demand for products like palm oil has caused about a quarter of all forest loss, mainly in South America and Southeast Asia.
As the human population grows, more homes, cities, and roads are built, increasing deforestation. About 90% of deforestation in the Amazon happens within 100 km of roads.
Mining has become a bigger cause of deforestation in the 21st century because of higher demand for minerals. While mining directly affects a small amount of forest, its indirect effects are much larger. More than a third of Earth’s forests may be affected by mining in some way. Between 2001 and 2021, "755,861 km…had been deforested by causes indirectly related to mining."
Impacts
Deforestation is a major cause of climate change. It is often listed as one of the main reasons for the increased greenhouse effect. Recent calculations show that carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from deforestation and forest damage (not including peatland emissions) make up about 12% of all human-caused CO₂ emissions, with a range from 6% to 17%. A 2022 study found that yearly carbon emissions from tropical deforestation have doubled in the last 20 years and are still rising. Emissions were about 0.97 ± 0.16 petagrams of carbon (billions of tons) per year from 2001–2005 and increased to 1.99 ± 0.13 petagrams of carbon per year from 2015–2019.
A review found that large-scale deforestation in areas north of 50°N causes a net global cooling, but deforestation in the tropics leads to significant warming. This is not only because of CO₂ emissions but also because of other physical effects, which make carbon-focused measures less accurate. The review also states that standing tropical forests help lower the average global temperature by more than 1°C. A later study found that deforestation in northern regions can increase warming, and earlier conclusions about cooling in these areas may have been incorrect because models did not fully account for the effects of evapotranspiration.
Burning forests to clear land releases large amounts of CO₂, which contributes to global warming. Scientists say tropical deforestation releases about 1.5 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year.
A study suggests that logged or damaged tropical forests continue to release carbon for at least a decade, even as they recover. This is because of greater carbon loss from soil and dead wood. This means the carbon storage ability of tropical forests, especially in South Asia, may be smaller than previously thought, contradicting the idea that recovering forests are net carbon sinks.
Forests are important in the global carbon cycle because trees and plants absorb CO₂ through photosynthesis. This makes them vital for reducing climate change. By removing CO₂ from the air, forests act as carbon sinks, storing large amounts of carbon in the form of plant parts like roots, stems, branches, and leaves. Forests store about 25% of human-caused carbon emissions each year, playing a key role in Earth’s climate. Trees continue to store carbon throughout their lives. Sustainable forest management, planting new forests, and restoring forests are important ways to reduce climate change.
An important point is that forests can change from carbon sinks to carbon sources. In 2019, forests absorbed about one-third less carbon than they did in the 1990s, due to higher temperatures, droughts, and deforestation. Data from 1999 to 2020 shows that some forests are nearing climate limits that could shift them from carbon sinks to sources. Tropical forests may become carbon sources by the 2060s.
Researchers say it is better to avoid deforestation than to allow forests to be cut down and later regrow, because the latter causes irreversible harm to biodiversity and soil. Young boreal forests are more likely to release carbon from the soil, especially because of a root pathogen called Armillaria (honey fungus), which breaks down wood and increases carbon release. Greenhouse gas emissions from damage to tropical rainforests were likely underestimated until around 2019. The benefits of planting new forests or restoring forests will take longer to appear compared to protecting existing forests. It takes several decades for new forests to store as much carbon as mature tropical forests. Scientists say protecting and restoring carbon-rich ecosystems, especially natural forests, is the main solution to climate change.
Planting trees on unused farmland or pastures helps absorb atmospheric CO₂ into plant material. For this process to work, the carbon must stay in the plants and not return to the air when the trees die. Some Ficus species, like Ficus wakefieldii, absorb CO₂ as calcium oxalate with the help of bacteria and fungi. This process creates calcium carbonate, which is stored in the tree and makes the soil more alkaline. These trees are being studied for use in agroforestry. The Iroko tree can store up to a ton of calcium carbonate in the soil over its lifetime. Cacti, like the Saguaro, also transfer carbon from the biological cycle to the geological cycle by forming calcium carbonate.
Earth has enough space to plant an additional 0.9 billion hectares of tree cover, though this estimate has been questioned. When considering effects like albedo (reflectivity), the actual area that cools the climate is likely 20–80% less. Planting and protecting these trees could store 205 billion tons of carbon if they survive future climate stress and grow to maturity. This is about 20 years of current global carbon emissions (as of 2019) and would represent about 25% of the atmosphere’s carbon in 2019.
The lifespan of forests varies worldwide, influenced by tree species, soil conditions, and natural events like fires. Some forests store carbon for centuries, while others release it quickly after fires. Harvesting forests before major fires allows carbon to stay in products like lumber. However, only part of the carbon removed from forests becomes long-lasting goods, while the rest becomes short-lived products like paper. If 90% of new construction used wood, especially mass timber, it could store 700 million tons of carbon yearly. This would also reduce emissions from materials like steel and concrete, which are carbon-heavy to produce.
A study found that mixed-species forests store more carbon and provide other benefits compared to single-species plantations.
Although bamboo forests store less total carbon than mature forests, they absorb carbon faster than mature forests or tree plantations. This means bamboo farming could be a useful way to store carbon.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that total forest carbon decreased from 668 gigatonnes in 1990 to 662 gigatonnes in 2020. In Canada’s boreal forests, up to 80% of carbon is stored in soil as dead organic matter.
The IPCC Sixth Assessment Report states that regrowing forests and restoring damaged ecosystems can play a major role in storing carbon, with high resilience to disturbances and benefits like increased biodiversity.
Impacts on temperature are affected by…
Monitoring
There are several reliable ways to reduce and monitor deforestation. One method involves examining aerial photos or satellite images by hand. This process takes a lot of time and effort but does not need advanced computer skills or powerful computers. Another method uses hot-spot analysis, which looks for areas where changes happen quickly. Experts or satellite images with less detail can help find these areas, which are then studied more closely using high-detail satellite images. Deforestation is usually measured by calculating how much forested land has been lost at a specific time. From an environmental perspective, understanding the harm caused and its possible effects is important, while efforts to protect forests focus on saving existing forests and finding better ways to use land to prevent further deforestation. Tracking how fast forests are lost and the total area lost has been widely used to monitor deforestation in many places, such as the Brazilian Amazon, where the government agency INPE does this work. A global view of Earth from space is available, showing how land cover has changed over time.
Satellite images are now very important for collecting information about deforestation and reforestation. For example, data from the Landsat satellite has been used to map deforestation in tropical regions as part of NASA’s Landsat Pathfinder Humid Tropical Deforestation Project. This project created maps showing deforestation in the Amazon Basin, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia for the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
Greenpeace has identified areas where forests remain untouched and shared this information online. The World Resources Institute has created a simpler map showing how much forest existed before humans began to change the land (about 8,000 years ago) and how much remains today.
Control
Policies to protect forests include programs that teach people about forests and ways to earn money from activities that follow rules. Poverty and the cost of using land for farming are major reasons forests are destroyed. Leaders in government today can create rules that help economic activities in important forests match the scientific value of forests for helping the environment, fighting climate change, and other goals.
These rules might include ways to improve technology and money systems, such as reducing beef production and use (which helps fight climate change), increasing activities like planting trees, protecting forests, and farming in ways that help the environment. Rules might also require clear information about products, certifications that show products are made responsibly, and special taxes for products that harm the environment. These rules would need monitoring to track progress. For example, such rules could help stop the use of forests for beef production. With careful planning, goals like reducing climate change as agreed in the Paris Agreement and stopping deforestation by 2030, as decided in 2021, might be reached. A study suggests richer countries should reduce buying products linked to tropical forests and support better ways to help people in those areas. Governments and international groups need to update rules about how forests are traded globally.
In 2022, the European Parliament passed a law to stop importing products linked to deforestation. This law, called the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR), may lead countries like Brazil to stop clearing forests for farming and instead grow more food on land already used. The law was approved with changes in May 2023 and will start being used soon. It requires companies importing certain products to the European Union to prove their goods were not made on land deforested after December 31, 2020. It also bans importing products linked to harm to people’s rights. The list of products includes palm oil, cattle, wood, coffee, cocoa, rubber, and soy. Some products made from these, like chocolate, furniture, paper, and other palm oil products, are also included.
However, a report called Bankrolling Ecosystem Destruction says stopping harmful imports is not enough. European banks are investing billions of euros in activities that harm nature. Banks are not responding to requests to stop this, so the report suggests stricter rules and banning banks from funding deforestation.
In 2014, about 40 countries signed the New York Declaration on Forests, a promise to cut deforestation in half by 2020 and end it by 2030. This agreement was not legally required, and some important countries, like Brazil, China, and Russia, did not sign it. Because of this, deforestation increased from 2014 to 2020.
In November 2021, 141 countries (covering about 85% of the world’s tropical forests and 90% of global tree cover) agreed at the COP26 climate meeting in Glasgow to the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use. This promise is to stop and reverse deforestation by 2030. Around $19.2 billion was pledged to support this effort.
The 2021 agreement improved on the New York Declaration by including Brazil and other countries that did not join the 2014 plan. However, some countries with high deforestation rates, such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Paraguay, and Myanmar, did not sign the Glasgow Declaration. Like the earlier agreement, the Glasgow plan is not legally required because it was not part of the UN climate rules.
In November 2021, the European Union proposed a law requiring companies to prove that agricultural products like beef, wood, palm oil, soy, coffee, and cocoa sent to the EU were not made on deforested land. In September 2022, the European Parliament supported and strengthened this plan with 453 votes to 57.
In 2018, the largest palm oil trader, Wilmar, decided to control its suppliers to avoid deforestation.
In 2021, over 100 world leaders, representing countries with more than 85% of the world’s forests, promised to stop and reverse deforestation and land damage by 2030.
Indigenous communities have long resisted deforestation. Giving land rights to indigenous people is seen as a cost-effective way to protect forests. This includes protecting rights already in laws, like India’s Forest Rights Act. In China, giving land rights to indigenous groups has been linked to more forest cover. In Brazil, forests owned by indigenous groups have lower clearing rates than national parks.
In the Congolian rainforests, communities with land management rights have less deforestation because they manage land in ways that help the environment and reduce poverty.
In areas where people burn forests to clear land, switching to a method called “slash-and-char” can stop rapid deforestation and soil damage. The biochar made this way, when added to soil, helps store carbon and improves soil quality. Mixed with plant matter, it creates terra preta, one of the richest soils on Earth, which can regenerate itself.
Certification systems, like the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification and the Forest Stewardship Council, help fight deforestation by creating demand for wood from forests managed responsibly. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says that for sustainable forest management to work, people must want to buy products made responsibly and be willing to pay more for them. Certification focuses on encouraging this demand.
Brazil’s Amazon soy moratorium, an agreement among companies to stop buying soy from deforested areas after 2008, has helped reduce deforestation. Less than 2% of soy production areas were not following the rules in 2018/19.
Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest damage (REDD) is a new idea to help fight climate change. It involves giving money to countries that reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest damage. This can work like a system where polluters pay for the right to emit certain gases, such as carbon dioxide.
International groups like the United Nations and the World Bank are creating programs to stop deforestation. The term “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation” is used widely to describe these efforts.
History
The Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse was an event that happened 300 million years ago. Climate change damaged tropical rainforests, leading to the extinction of many plant and animal species. The changes happened quickly, as the climate became cooler and drier, which are not good conditions for rainforests or the life they support. Rainforests became broken into smaller sections, like islands, that grew farther apart. Some groups, like the sub class Lissamphibia, were greatly harmed, while Reptilia survived. The animals and plants that survived were better suited to the drier environment and helped new life grow after the collapse.
Rainforests once covered 14% of Earth’s land surface, but now they cover only 6%. Experts predict that the last remaining rainforests could disappear in less than 40 years. Small-scale deforestation happened for tens of thousands of years before the rise of civilization. The first signs of deforestation appear during the Mesolithic period, when people likely burned forests to create open spaces for animals like deer and boar. With the start of agriculture, larger areas were cleared, and fire was used to prepare land for farming. In Europe, evidence of deforestation is rare before 7000 BC. Mesolithic people used fire to make areas suitable for deer and wild boar. In Great Britain, tree species like oak and ash were replaced by hazel, brambles, grasses, and nettles in pollen records. Removing forests reduced water evaporation, leading to the formation of upland peat bogs. A drop in elm pollen across Europe between 8400–8300 BC and 7200–7000 BC may show early Neolithic farming and land clearing by fire.
During the Neolithic period, forests were cut down to make space for farming. Stone axes made from 3000 BC were crafted from various hard rocks, not just flint, in places like the Langdale axe industry in England, Penmaenmawr in Wales, and other locations. Axes were shaped locally and polished for better strength and efficiency. Flint was still used from places like Grimes Graves and other mines in Europe.
Evidence of deforestation has been found in Minoan Crete, such as around the Palace of Knossos during the Bronze Age.
Archaeological findings show that ancient farming societies often cut or burned forests before planting crops. Records and artifacts from early civilizations also show histories of deforestation. For example, Assyrian carvings from the 8th century BCE show logs being floated to the capital as war spoils. Ancient Chinese texts mention that forests in the Yellow River valley were destroyed over 2000 years ago, forcing people to plant trees or import them. In South China, land was privately owned for timber production.
Studies of ancient Greece show that major erosion followed the start of farming in various regions by about 500–1000 years, from the Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age. Between the mid-first millennium BC and the last centuries BC, soil erosion caused ports like Clarus, Ephesus, Priene, and Miletus in Asia Minor to be abandoned due to silt buildup. Similar issues occurred in coastal Syria.
Easter Island experienced heavy soil erosion in recent centuries, worsened by agriculture and deforestation. The loss of trees on the island seems to match the decline of its civilization around the 17th and 18th centuries. Scholars believe this collapse was caused by deforestation and overuse of resources.
The silting of Bruges’ harbor, which shifted trade to Antwerp, followed increased settlement growth and deforestation in river basins. In medieval Riez, silt from rivers raised riverbeds and buried a Roman settlement, forcing new construction to higher ground. Meanwhile, forests above Riez were cleared for grazing.
A common issue was that cities were built in forested areas to support industries like construction and shipbuilding. When forests were cut without replanting, wood became scarce, making cities uncompetitive and leading to their abandonment, as seen in Ancient Asia Minor. Fuel needs for mining and metallurgy also caused deforestation and city decline.
Most populations remained in or depended on agriculture, so land clearing for farming and grazing was a major pressure. Enough natural vegetation was often left to support wildlife. Nobility and clergy protected hunting areas, preserving some forests.
Monastic groups, like Benedictine and Commercial orders, and feudal lords helped grow populations by offering farmers good legal and tax conditions. Towns needed agricultural land around or within walls for settlers. Population drops, such as from the Black Death, colonization of the Americas, or wars like the Mongol invasions and the Thirty Years’ War, led to abandoned settlements. Nature reclaimed the land, but regrown forests lacked original biodiversity. Mongol invasions alone reduced 700 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere by allowing forests to regrow on depopulated land.
Between 1100 and 1500 AD, deforestation in Western Europe increased due to population growth. From the 15th century, European naval owners built wooden ships for exploration, colonization, and trade, using vast forest resources. This contributed to bubonic plague outbreaks in the 14th century. Piracy in Spain also led to overharvesting of forests, weakening the economy after Columbus discovered America.
In Early Modern Europe, the large-scale use of charcoal for industry consumed vast forest resources. Each of Nelson’s Royal Navy warships at Trafalgar (1805) required 6,000 mature oaks for construction.
Society and culture
Different cultures around the world have different views about cutting down trees. In Meitei mythology and folklore from Manipur, India, deforestation is described as a reason that makes Mother Nature feel sad and mourn the loss of her children.