Nikki Tate - If a Tree Falls: The Global Impact of Deforestation

Mangrove roots on the Aru Islands of Indonesia help prevent erosion. Bidouze/Dreamstime.com

Unless you live in a desert or so far north that there are no trees at all, you have probably visited a forest, because trees grow in most parts of the world.

The definition of a forest is a large area covered chiefly with trees and undergrowth. The kinds of plants and animals that live in the complex ecosystems within vary depending on where in the world the forest is found.

Some plant species thrive in the cool, moist shade provided by large old trees. If a windstorm blows through and knocks them down, this opens up the area for more sunlight, which allows different species to move in and flourish. Seeds sprout and young trees start growing.

Suzanne Simard is a professor of forest ecology who discovered that mother trees change their root structure to make room for baby trees, protecting them. Communicating through an underground web, or net, of fungi, mother trees send carbon and nitrogen to other trees who need it. When a mother tree is cut down, it affects all the plants and trees that are connected to it through the underground network. Young trees do not flourish when mother trees are removed.

Mature forests include trees of all ages. Roxana Gonzalez/Dreamstime.com

In a replanted area the trees are generally of the same type and of a similar age, which creates very different types of ecosystems than you would find in a natural forest. Yes, these trees may grow fast and straight, but they do not recreate the structurally complex ecosystems of an old-growth forest. Old-growth forests include many different types of trees and other plants. They cant be easily replaced or regrown. Some of the trees are young and some are ancient, and this variety is what allows many different insects, birds and animals to thrive.

Adding up the Costs

The bark of this cedar tree has been stripped by Indigenous people on Vancouver Island. Trees like this are designated culturally modified trees. Ancient Forest Alliance

Forests are more than just a bunch of trees. Not only are the worlds forests home to 80 percent of the worlds land animals and plants, but they also act as massive carbon sinks, helping to moderate climate change. Destroying forests disrupts the water cycle. This can happen locally and on a global scale. In certain areas forest loss may speed up desert formation. When forests disappear, so too does a whole way of being for Indigenous people who have made their homes in the forest for generations. The relationship with the land impacts every aspect of Indigenous peoples culture and knowledge.

TREE TRIVIA: Did you know forests can move? The northern edge of a forest boundary can migrate as much as 330 feet (100 meters) over 10 years as a result of climate change. Warmer weather allows trees to grow farther north and at a higher elevation than they could in the past.

Types of Forests

The leaves of many deciduous trees change color in the fall. Dorian Baumann/unsplash.com

Imaginary lines running from pole to pole are called lines of longitude, or meridians. Lines running parallel to the equator are known as lines of latitude. This grid provides a handy way to identify any position on Earth. Hellerick/Wikipedia.org

Forests can be grouped into three main categories: tropical, temperate and boreal. The trees, plants and animals found in each type of forest change based on its distance north or south of the equator (latitude) and also on its