Tropical forests are often more productive than temperate forests, meaning they store more carbon. [1] That's 15.3 billion every year. All the software and code that we write is open source and made available via GitHub under the permissive MIT license. [2] Only 36% of the world's rainforests remain intact. Share of deforestation that is driven by domestic consumption, Annual CO emissions from deforestation for food production, trade-adjusted. Nature, 536(7615), 143. These countries might have high levels of afforestation at home, but theyre still having a net negative impact on the size of the worlds forests. It was predominantly temperate forests that were being lost at this time. For example, the average German generated half a tonne (510 kilograms) of CO2 per person from domestic and imported foods. are added every year. A study published on September 2, 2015 in the journal Nature suggests these answers: 3 trillion and 15.3 billion. Imported emissions are also high for Taiwan, Belgium and the Netherlands at around one tonne. When we treat these impacts equally we make it difficult to prioritize our efforts in the fight against deforestation. An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation drivers in developing countries. We see one such transition in the chart: the forest loss in the temperate regions shown as the green part of the bars peaked much earlier than the global forest loss. But we should keep these important aspects in mind when comparing forest losses and gains. As of 2020, the UN estimates the planet is losing over 7,000,000 hectares per year to deforestation.27Between 1990 and 2015, the world lost 129 million hectares of forest an area about the size of South Africa.11 Natural forests lost by continent9include: Africa 3.2 million hectares Please consult our full legal disclaimer. England is similar: in the late 11th century, 15% of the country was forested, and over the following centuries two-thirds were cut down. Explore long-term changes in deforestation, and deforestation rates across the world today. Environmental Research Letters, 7(4), 044009. In just over 100 years the world lost as much forest as it had in the previous 9,000 years. estimate a 35% loss of global forest cover since 10,000. The total cut down so far is over 470 million trees since January 1st. are added every year. In the chart we see the comparison between the change in domestic forest area, and deforestation driven by imported goods.33 On the vertical axis we have the domestic change in forest area: this is shown only for countries where the forest area is increasing. Then things started to speed up. Loss of Biodiversity: Forests are the only liveable habitat for a variety of species around the globe many of which have not even have been discovered. They should keep their domestic reforestation targets in perspective with their net impact on global forests. It results in a permanent conversion of forest into an alternative land use. But then the trend turned, and it moved from deforestation to reforestation. How many trees are cut down each year?. A new study published in Nature estimates the planet has 3.04 trillion trees. Absolute estimates of forest cover from other sources may differ for this reason. If we fast-forward to 1700 when the global population had increased more than ten-fold, to 603 million. But, as countries continue to get richer this demand slows. From this understanding we can define five reasons why we lose forests: Thanks to satellite imagery, we can get a birds-eye view of what these drivers look like from above. 27% of forest loss results from commodity-driven deforestation cutting down forests to grow crops such as soy, palm oil, cocoa, to raise livestock on pasture, and mining operations. Williams, M. (2003). A note on UN FAO forestry data Data on net forest change, afforestation and deforestation is sourced from the UN Food and Agriculture Organizations Forest Resources Assessment. Agricultural and forestry trade drives large share of tropical deforestation emissions. Forest degradation measures a thinning of the canopy a reduction in the density of trees in the area but without a change in land use. The research says 15.3 billion trees are chopped down every year. This is because the latter only captures deforestation the replacement of forest with another land use (such as cropland). Tree density in primary forests varies from 50,000-100,000 trees per square km, so the math would put this number at 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees cut down each year. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. University of Chicago Press. It would be good if there was data available that would capture these additional aspects. Thats more than the countrys CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, which are around 2.2 tonnes per person. But it was then that England reached its transition point and since then, forests have doubled in size. Most of our future deforestation is going to come from countries in the pre- or early-transition phase. The story of both soy and palm oil are complex and its not obvious that eliminating these products will fix the problem. Shifting agriculture is usually classified as degradation because the land is often abandoned and the forests regrow naturally. Lets put some numbers to them. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 361(1465), 195-210. Second, it makes clear how much deforestation accelerated over the last century. The researchers found that 36 million trees are cut down in urban areas each year, and 167,000 acres of impervious areas (concrete, asphalt, etc.) Deforestation and forest degradation are responsible for around 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Forests still cover about 30 percent of the worlds land area, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate. Since 2016, an average of 28 million hectares have been cut down every year. Global forest resources. Given the current estimate of the total tree cover on the planet, that could equate to about 0.11% of trees being cut each year. WebThe UN FAO estimate that 10 million hectares of forest were cut down each year. The change is permanent. Forests are mainly cut and burned to make space for local, subsistence agriculture or for fuelwood for energy. (2020). Web3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are cut down per year. The breakdown of forest loss globally, and by region, is shown in the chart.22. WebEvery year from 2011-2015 about 20 million hectares of forest was cut down. Time and time again we see examples of countries that have lost massive amounts of forest before reaching a turning point where deforestation not only slows, but forests return. There is some bad news, though: that number is likely to increase by 20% by 2023. This is true for some problems, such as climate change. From 1850 to 1920, losses were around 50% higher at 30 million hectares per decade thats like losing a forested area the size of Italy every 10 years. Which countries are gaining, and which are losing forest? Why should we care most about tropical deforestation? Increasing human dominance of tropical forests. The number of trees cut down in the Brazilian Amazon in January far exceeded deforestation for the same month last year, according to government satellite data. How Many Acres of Trees Are Cut Down Each Year? Rudel, T. K. (1998). Environmental impacts of food consumption in Europe. We would subtract its deforestation (25,000 hectares) from its reforestation (50,000 hectares) to get 25,000 hectares net gain. Since the end of the last great ice age 10,000 years ago the world has lost one-third of its forests.5 Two billion hectares of forest an area twice the size of the United States has been cleared to grow crops, raise livestock, and use for fuelwood. Given the current estimate of the total tree cover on the planet, that could equate to about 0.11% of trees being cut each year. The breakdown of deforestation by region is shown in the chart. Some of the worlds poorest countries are still in the pre-transition phase. The research says 15.3 billion trees are chopped down every year. How many trees does IKEA cut down a Global Environmental Change, 56, 1-10. A study published on September 2, 2015 in the journal Nature suggests these answers: 3 trillion and 15.3 billion. And to identify where deforestation is occurring; perhaps as important, show where forest loss is not deforestation. Growing all those trees requires about 19.7 square miles of land. Deforestation was therefore responsible for [2.6 / 40.2 * 100 = 6.5%]. A new study published in Nature estimates the planet has 3.04 trillion trees. The 11-month balance shows that 1,539,970 trees were cut down each day, which means 1,059 trees per minute or almost 18 trees per second. Thats around half the size of Germany. Since year-to-year changes in forest cover can be volatile, the UN FAO provide this annual data averaged over five-year periods. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 27(9), 501-510. Rome. (2017) estimate that the average EU diet, excluding deforestation, is responsible for 0.5 tonnes CO2 per person. When it comes to the worlds forests, two of the commonly asked questions are How many trees are on Earth? and How many trees are cut down each year? Thats a lot of trees! Over the decade since 2010, the net loss in forests globally was 4.7 million hectares per year.1 However, deforestation rates were much significantly higher. The diet of the average Brazilian creates 2.7 tonnes of CO2 from deforestation alone. Latin America exports around 23% of its emissions; that means more than three-quarters are generated for products that are consumed within domestic markets. WebHealthy trees mean: Healthy people: 100 trees remove 53 tons of carbon dioxide and 430 pounds of other air pollutants per year. If poorer countries are cutting down forests to make food for rich consumers, then we should just stop trading these goods. How many trees are chopped down for Christmas? Noriko Hosonuma et al. Our World in Data is free and accessible for everyone. In the map we see their assessment of each countrys stage in the transition. Lets take an example. How many trees are cut down each year?. This interactive map shows deforestation rates across the world. How many trees does IKEA cut down a According to the Environmental Paper Network, an estimated 30% of felled trees are used for paper products. WebThe United States has more trees today than we had 100 years ago (and a global study even found that the number of trees on Earth is around 3.04 trillion, a much higher number than previously believed.) Are they causing more deforestation elsewhere than they are regenerating in forests at home? National Inventory of Woodland and Trees, England (2001). What we know and dont know about Earths missing biodiversity. The world loses 5 million hectares of forest to deforestation each year. Many forests utilize the sustained-yield management, which means that more trees are planted than logged every year. It was a net exporter. Pre-1961 land use is sourced from the work of Ellis et al. Deforestation also results in larger losses of biodiversity and carbon relative to degradation. The problem is that it treats all forest loss as equal. From 1700 to 1850, 19 million hectares were being cleared every decade. But this is no longer the case: forest loss across North America and Europe is now the result of harvesting forestry products from tree plantations, or tree loss in wildfires. Why? This interactive map shows deforestation rates across the world. Rural Sociology, 63(4), 533-552. Decisionmakers could give as much of our attention to European logging as to destruction of the Amazon. Loss of Biodiversity: Forests are the only liveable habitat for a variety of species around the globe many of which have not even have been discovered. The United Nations, as well as experts at the World Wildlife Fund and Global Forest Watch, found that one million animals are in danger of extinction as a result of how much deforestation has occurred. The latter will experience short-term environmental impacts, but will ultimately regrow. But there are real reasons to believe that this century doesnt have to replicate the destruction of the last one. Hosonuma et al. But most emissions are driven by domestic markets this means policies in the major producer countries will be key to tackling this problem. Whether we look at the distribution of endemic mammal species, bird species, or amphibian species, the map is the same: subtropical countries are packed with unique wildlife. The researchs results are More than four times as much. Centuries ago it was mainly temperate regions that were driving global deforestation [we take a look at this longer history of deforestation in a related article]. Humanitys biggest footprint is due to what we eat, not where we live. But we also see that some countries which import a lot of food have high emissions. For this reason, data sources including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization tend to aggregate annual losses as the average over five-year or decadal periods. WebTropical forests alone hold more than 228 to 247 gigatons of carbon, which is more than seven times the amount emitted each year by human activities. Today thats just 34%. Increasing human dominance of tropical forests. But its not the case for deforestation. As we will see later, this is dominated by palm oil exports to Europe, China, India, North America and the Middle East. Crowther, T. W., Glick, H. B., Covey, K. R., Bettigole, C., Maynard, D. S., Thomas, S. M., & Tuanmu, M. N. (2015). Deforestation and forest degradation are responsible for around 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Brazil and Indonesia alone account for almost half. The change is temporary. I have therefore excluded these categories so we can focus on how habitable land is used. But by studying how forests have changed over time, theres good reason to think that a way forward is possible. Before we look at trends in deforestation across the world specifically, its useful to understand the net change in forest cover. This follows the classic forest transition model with development, which we look at in more detail in a related article. Journal of Rural Studies, 15(1), 65-90.Mather, A. S., & Needle, C. L. (2000). This highlights an important point: less than 20% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa have access to clean fuels for cooking, meaning they still rely on wood and charcoal. By Georgina Rannard. That depends on who you ask, but we do know that around 47 million hectares of primary forest were lost between 2000 and 2020. All of our charts can be embedded in any site. [4] Forests cover 4.06 billion hectares (just less than 31%) of [1] That's 15.3 billion every year. And its not just in forests eitherits also happening on farms, in cities, and on private property. Environmental Research Letters, 14(5), 055003. Forests still cover about 30 percent of the worlds land area, but they are disappearing at an alarming rate. And, we might place more value on preserving primary, native forests that havent yet been deforested over regrowing forests that have lost their previous ecosystems. The other issue that arises is that tree loss or forest loss data collected by satellite imagery often doesnt match the official statistics reported by governments in their land use inventories. How many trees are cut down each year? 79% of exported deforestation ended up in those countries that had stopped losing domestic forests. In a related article we look in much more detail at what agricultural products, and which countries are driving this. That depends on who you ask, but we do know that around 47 million hectares of primary forest were lost between 2000 and 2020. Nearly half (47%) of France was forested 1000 years ago; today thats just under one-third (31.4%). Web42 million trees are cut down each day. How many trees have been cut down? Habitat loss is the leading driver of global biodiversity loss.25 When we cut down rainforests we are destroying the habitats of many unique species, and reshaping these ecosystems permanently. WebThe UN FAO estimate that 10 million hectares of forest were cut down each year. Thats one football field of forest lost every single second around the clock. This often comes at the cost of forests. We need to pass the transition point as soon as possible, while minimising the amount of forest we lose along the way. When it comes to assessing the worlds forests, two questions need to be answered: How many trees are on Earth? and. But the magnitude of these impacts are often less than the complete conversion of forest. The United Nations, as well as experts at the World Wildlife Fund and Global Forest Watch, found that one million animals are in danger of extinction as a result of how much deforestation has occurred. In a related post we have combined this FAO data with global deforestation rates from Williams (2003) to document forest change over the last 300 years this gives us data on forest change from 1700 onwards. Many farmers rely on international buyers to earn a living and improve their livelihoods. As to the number of trees this represents, its impossible to get an accurate count. Low agricultural productivity and a reliance on wood for fuel meant that large amounts of land had to be cleared for basic provisions. Can we bring it to an end? The world has lost one-third of its forest an area twice the size of the United States. Licenses: All visualizations, data, and articles produced by Our World in Data are open access under the Creative Commons BY license. How much forest has the world lost? There is little forest left. Countries with a positive change (shown in green) are regrowing forest faster than theyre losing it. FAO. Humans have already destroyed around 46% of the trees on Earth. The number of trees cut down in the Brazilian Amazon in January far exceeded deforestation for the same month last year, according to government satellite data. Explore more of our work on Forests and Deforestation, Anthropogenic Biomes: 10,000 BCE to 2015 CE, The course and drivers of the forest transition: the case of France, The relationships of population and forest trends, An assessment of deforestation and forest degradation drivers in developing countries, Increasing human dominance of tropical forests, Proactive conservation to prevent habitat losses to agricultural expansion, Forest transition theory and the reforesting of Scotland, Is there a forest transition? WebTropical forests alone hold more than 228 to 247 gigatons of carbon, which is more than seven times the amount emitted each year by human activities. Why? Nicolas-Jacques Cont, an officer in Napoleon's army, invented the modern pencil by combining graphite and clay for lead durability. First, it reiterates that deforestation is not a new problem: relatively small populations of the past were capable of driving a large amount of forest loss. It also estimates that 46% of the worlds trees have been cleared over the past 12,000 years. How many trees are cut down each year in the Amazon rainforest? People cut down 15 billion trees each year and the global tree count has fallen by 46% since the beginning of human civilization. The trees are not expected to regrow. Whats surprising is how consistent the pattern of change is across so many countries; as weve seen they all seem to follow a U-shaped curve. But, it would be wrong to think that the only impact rich countries have on global forests is through changes in their domestic forests. This topic page can be cited as: All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the Creative Commons BY license. The turn of the 20th century is when global forest loss reached the halfway point: half of total forest loss occurred from 8,000BC to 1900; the other half occurred in the last century alone. But, the fact that forest transitions are possible should give us confidence that a positive future is possible. As of 2020, the UN estimates the planet is losing over 7,000,000 hectares per year to deforestation.27Between 1990 and 2015, the world lost 129 million hectares of forest an area about the size of South Africa.11 Natural forests lost by continent9include: Africa 3.2 million hectares Tyukavina, A., Hansen, M. C., Potapov, P. V., Stehman, S. V., Smith-Rodriguez, K., Okpa, C., & Aguilar, R. (2017). But distilling changes to this single metric tree or forest loss comes with its own issues. 1000 years ago, 20% of Scotlands land was covered by forest. Healthy communities: Tree-filled neighborhoods lower levels of domestic violence and are safer and more sociable. Forest loss measures the net change in forest cover: the loss in forests due to deforestation plus any expansion of forest through afforestation.6. Some interesting facts state that every second, 1.5 acres of wood are cut down, We manage to capture some of these differences in carbon in our related article on deforestation emissions embedded in trade. Each year, an estimated 15 billion trees are cut down around the world. In a previous article I showed that the types of food you eat matter much more for your carbon footprint than where it comes from this is because transport usually makes up a small percentage of your foods emissions, even if it comes from the other side of the world. This is shortly after the end of the last great ice age, through to the present day.2. Loss of Biodiversity: Forests are the only liveable habitat for a variety of species around the globe many of which have not even have been discovered. Lewis, S. L., Edwards, D. P., & Galbraith, D. (2015). Historical data pre-1990 is sourced from Michael Williams book, Deforesting the Earth: from prehistory to global crisis. A note on UN FAO forestry data Data on net forest change, afforestation and deforestation is sourced from the UN Food and Agriculture Organizations Forest Resources Assessment. Journal of Cleaner Production, 140, 753-765. If we sum countries imported deforestation by World Bank income group, we find that high-income countries were responsible for 14% of imported deforestation; upper-middle income for 52%; lower-middle income for 23%; and low income for 11%. The data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. Tree density in primary forests varies from 50,000-100,000 trees per square km, so the math would put this number at 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees cut down each year. How many trees are cut down each year in the Amazon rainforest? When it comes to the worlds forests, two of the commonly asked questions are How many trees are on Earth? and How many trees are cut down each year? To investigate this question, researchers Florence Pendrill et al. 432). Nearly all 95% of this deforestation occurs in the tropics. If we want to end deforestation we need to understand where and why its happening; where countries are within their transition; and what can be done to accelerate their progress through it. Lewis, S. L., Edwards, D. P., & Galbraith, D. (2015). Humans have already destroyed around 46% of the trees on Earth. To put this in perspective, that would be around one-sixth of the total carbon footprint of the average EU diet.36. How Many Trees are Cut down for Paper Each Year . How many trees are cut down each year?. [1] That's 15.3 billion every year. The rate of population growth tends to slow down. Most of todays richest countries all of Europe, North America, Japan, South Korea have passed the turning point and are now regaining forest. 95% of global deforestation occurs in the tropics. This means interventions at the national-level will be key: this can include a range of solutions including policies such as Brazils soy moratorium, the REDD+ programme to compensate for the opportunity costs of preserving these forests, and improvements in agricultural productivity so countries can continue to produce more food on less land. In the map we see the net deforestation embedded in trade for each country. It might seem odd to argue that we should focus our efforts on tackling this quarter of forest loss (rather than the other 73%). WebEvery year from 2011-2015 about 20 million hectares of forest was cut down. Carbon emissions from deforestation: are they driven by domestic demand or international trade? But, overall, oilseeds and beef tend to top the list for most countries. Brazils emissions are high because Brazilians eat a lot of beef. How Many Acres of Trees Are Cut Down Each Year? The rate of forest loss changed a lot. In Latin America and Asia the dominant driver of degradation was logging for products such as timber, paper and pulp this accounted for more than 70%. Because people are starting to see how climate change affects trees. Forest Transitions: why do we lose then regain forests? That means that each year, one percent of all trees are being destroyed. It breaks the change in forests into four stages, explained by two variables: the amount of forest cover a region has, and the annual change in cover (how quickly it is losing or gaining forest).15. In the chart we see the decadal losses and gains in global forest cover. Many forests utilize the sustained-yield management, which means that more trees are planted than logged every year. Approximately 3.5 billion to 7 billion trees are being cut each year according to a report referenced on the Rainforest Action Networks website (RAN) and other publications. Improvements in crop yields mean the per capita demand for agricultural land continues to fall. The amount of land per person that was needed to produce enough food was not small in fact, it was much larger than today. Curtis, P. G., Slay, C. M., Harris, N. L., Tyukavina, A., & Hansen, M. C. (2018). Many people think of environmental concerns as a modern issue: humanitys destruction of nature and ecosystems as a result of very recent population growth and increasing consumption. Tropical forests are home to some of the richest and most diverse ecosystems on the planet. 2020. Forest loss or tree loss captures two fundamental impacts on forest cover: deforestation and forest degradation. In the article we will look at the reasons we lose forest; how these can be differentiated in a useful way; and what this means for understanding our priorities in tackling forest loss. Given the current estimate of the total tree cover on the planet, that could equate to about 0.11% of trees being cut each year. Several studies have assessed the stage of countries across the world.17 The most recent analysis to date was published by Florence Pendrill and colleagues (2019) which looked at each countrys stage in the transition, the drivers of deforestation but also the role of international trade.18 To do this, they used the standard metrics discussed in our theory of forest transitions earlier: the share of land that is forested, and the annual change in forest cover. This interactive map shows deforestation rates across the world. Then things started to speed up. Imagine over 100 large harvesters working non-stop. In the chart we see how emissions from tropical deforestation are distributed through international supply chains. Population growth meant that todays rich countries across Europe and North America needed more and more resources such as land for agriculture, wood for energy, and for construction.8. Thats one football field of forest lost every single second around the clock. How many trees have been cut down? 82,000 trees are cut down every year to make 14 billion traditional wooden pencils. Notarnicola et al. WebTropical forests alone hold more than 228 to 247 gigatons of carbon, which is more than seven times the amount emitted each year by human activities. That means that each year, one percent of all trees are being destroyed. Deforestation, reforestation, and development, Forest transitions: towards a global understanding of land use change, Economic development and forest cover: evidence from satellite data, Deforestation displaced: trade in forest-risk commodities and the prospects for a global forest transition, Classifying drivers of global forest loss, What we know and dont know about Earths missing biodiversity, Biodiversity: The ravages of guns, nets and bulldozers, Tropical forests and the changing earth system, Types and rates of forest disturbance in Brazilian Legal Amazon, 20002013, Agricultural and forestry trade drives large share of tropical deforestation emissions, Environmental impacts of food consumption in Europe. Americans cut down 15,094,678 Christmas trees in 2017, according to the most recent year of data from the U.S. Agriculture Department. Cover about 30 percent of the world lost as much of our future deforestation is going to come countries..., & Needle, C. L. ( 2000 ) half ( 47 ). How habitable land is used ) from its reforestation ( 50,000 hectares ) to get richer this demand slows around... Forest we lose along the way reason to think that a positive future is possible make food rich... This follows the classic forest transition model with development, which means that year... Work of Ellis et al around 46 % of global deforestation occurs in the previous 9,000 years year.... Positive future is possible the tropics ] Only 36 % of the commonly asked questions how! That had stopped losing domestic forests ago ; today thats just under one-third ( 31.4 % ) a! Forest lost every single second around the world 's rainforests remain intact asked questions are how many are! For this reason nearly half ( 47 % ) of France was forested 1000 years ago ; today thats under. Forest to deforestation plus any expansion of forest were cut down each year? for fuel that. 15 ( 1 ), 533-552 so far is over 470 million trees since January 1st the in. 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