Deforestation Tree Farming In India

Deforestation Tree Farming In India

Deforestation Tree Farming is a very widely discussed topic of recent times. It means the action of removing plants, trees, and greens from land to make space for farming, rehabilitation and other needs. In other words, for any non-forest use if you cut trees then it would be referred to as deforestation. Now to relate deforestation with farming we can say that, for farming practices or to increase the scope for farming. In many places to increase aggregate land, this practice has been followed. Though this process is not good for the environment and considered illegal in some countries, it is followed by rural people around the world. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="606"] Deforestation[/caption]

Causes of Deforestation:

There are several reasons responsible for Deforestation Tree Farming but among them the most mention-able is farming. United Nations committee on climate change also mentioned farming (especially Subsistence farming) as the direct cause of deforestation.

Causes of Deforestation	Responsibility level
Subsistence farming	45%
Commercial Agriculture	30%
Logging	10%
Commercial or Urbanization purpose	10%
Removal of wood and twigs for fuel	5%

Farming as a cause of Deforestation:

The primary reason for Deforestation Tree Farming is agriculture. From the prehistoric age, this practice is going on. The moto is to clear the land to grow crops for a living. Industrial crops like palm are also grown in those land for economic growth & prosperity of a country. Every year around 5 million hector land around the world converts from forest to agricultural land. Isn’t the fact is fascinating? This results in a reduction in aggregate forest area and directly impacts on some serious issues like- the balance between oxygen and greenhouse gas, global warming, ozone layer gap etc.

Other Direct causes of Deforestation:

Other than farming, urbanization and industrialization are a big cause of deforestation. This is required to rehabilitate people and make commercial buildings, roads, educational institution, hospitals and more. As the land is cheaper to buy this is the favorite option for all the industrialist. Other than these direct reasons increasing the population of a place, wildfires and many other reasons are there. If the population of an area increases, their need also increases. Here need refers to shelter and food needs. More population means more need for space to stay and more area to grow more crops. Thus automatically the habitat will cut the forest to meet the needs. Apart from that due to drastic change in climate every year incidents of wildfire occurs in different part making the green dead.

Effect of Deforestation:

Talking about the effects, there is no doubt that all effects are negative towards society. Here we have only mentioned a hand full of effects to elaborate:

• Effects towards Soil:

Trees grab the soil with their roots. Deforestation thus keeps the soil in place and prevents soil erosion. The rate of soil erosion in the non-forest area is around 2 metric tons/sq. km. This misplaced soil pollutes the rivers and sea.

• Effects towards Climate:

The tropical rain forest is the densest and largest forest of the world but every year due to deforestation the effect of greenhouse gas is increasing. More simply we can say that forest consumes the carbon dioxide emitted by us and in return provides us with the oxygen to balance the environment. Reduction in forest area thus means dis-balance in the oxygen & carbon dioxide level. Also, that ultimately impacts climate by increasing greenhouse gas. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="606"]                                                               Effects towards Climate[/caption]

• Effects towards Water Cycle:

Forests or greens transport the largest capacity of water and maintain the environmental water cycle. The tropical Rain forest is the best example of this case. The climate here is- a bright sunny morning along with rain from evening onward. The underground water pulls on by the deep roots and transported into the leaf for photosynthesis. After evaporation the warm water vapor prepares clouds. That cloud touches the earth by rain. This way the water cycle is going on since the creation of the earth. One day if the forest disappears then this water cycle will also be hampered badly and maybe we will lose the rain forever.

Impact of Deforestation into Farming

Now if we come directly to the topic then we can put light on this topic from two points of views. One elaborating the impact of Deforestation Tree Farming over the agriculture of that area. Means cultivation system of a particular area can be hampered if deforestation rate is high.0 The ecosystem of a forest transport more water than any other land ecosystem. Be it the river water or the groundwater, the plants in the forest create clouds with their photosynthesis process. This way the forest helps the water to transport from earth level to air. Imagine a world without any plant. Then there will be no rain and slowly the entire world would be a great desert- no green, no rain, no plants, no vegetables, even with no oxygen. The water, especially the rain is an essential factor for cultivation. Due to deforestation the normal raining of a particular geographical area changes. Due to that, the growth of the crop stunted or becomes damaged. This directly impacts the economic system of a country as well as the GDP. Farmers are the most affected class if an area is affected by drought or flood. As they don’t have huge savings to repay the debt.

Previously we stated & all will agree upon the fact that the primary reason for deforestation is farming. Different kind of farming practices can be the reason for deforestation. Like-

• Subsistence Farming:

Subsistence farming implies small scale farming. In this practice, a farmer grows crop to feed his family. Usually, this practice only serves the local need. Like the need for a locality or village. When the population of an urban area rise then the habitat of that area tends to clear the local forest area and start their cultivation there. Usually, fruits and vegetables come under this category. Like- potato, cress, onion, cabbage etc. Keeping these crops in fresh condition for a longer time is not possible.

• Commercial Farming:

Commercial Farming is a large scale farming technique to produce a large quantity of the crop. This crop is used to meet the domestic need as well as to participate in international import and export business. Here the required land area is vast. So a large area has to be cleared up for land acquisition. Crops like- Wheat, corn, paddy, beans come under this category. The crops under this farming technique can be preserved for a longer period which is essential for transportation, distribution and preservation of the crops. Also, you need to consider the fact that you can’t cultivate again and again in a single piece of land. If you do that, due to deterioration of soil quality the crops will not be good. So more land is required for farming. Along with the above-mentioned techniques, all other farming technique has the basic requirement of land. So the only way to get the cheapest available land is to cut down the forest. Finally, we can say that deforestation is very closely related to farming. If deforestation happens then the agriculture of the area gets affected. Conversely for expansion of farming deforestation is the most used technique. Feature Image: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1379"] Commercial Farming[/caption]