Deforestation Monitoring and Management

Forests cover almost a third of all land area on Earth, yet at a current deforestation rate, in the nearest future we might lose most to all of it. Trees play an essential role in the carbon cycle, absorbing CO2 and giving off oxygen, thus keeping global temperatures from rising rapidly, and providing air to breathe for all living beings on the planet. Over two thirds of all land animals rely on forests as their habitats.

The effects of deforestation on environment can be catastrophic, if humans do not take up sustainable management of forest resources and agriculture. Monitoring forests in near-real time is one of key solutions for deforestation.

satellite monitors forest
Figures

Deforestation Facts and Statistics

Deforestation in 5 years

10M

ha 24.7 mil acres annually
Primary forests lost worldwide since 1990

80M

hectares 198 million acres
Endangered Tree Species

>1 400

species
Forest-dependent people in poverty

90%

of people
Share of global forest resources among top 5 countries

>50%

of world's forests
Forest lost by South America in 2010-2020

2.6M

ha annually 64 million acres per year
Deforestation Causes

What Causes Deforestation Issues?

Consequences

Negative Effects of Deforestation

Deforestation leads to multiple negative effects, including soil degradation, flooding, and climate change

  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Soil erosion
  • Global Warming
  • Biodiversity
  • Flooding
carbon released into the atmosphere

Deforestation and climate change are firmly linked with each other. It has been estimated that deforestation contributes to at least 15% of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on the planet. Trees rely on carbon dioxide, primary greenhouse gas, to survive, so the more trees are standing, the less CO2 is in the air. Rainforests alone store between 228 to 247 gigatons of carbon. Felling trees increases the amount of carbon dioxide in two ways: 1) leaves less trees to absorb the gas and 2) releases carbon back into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases, especially CO2, can raise global temperatures and affect weather patterns, leading to climate change.

soil erosion due to deforestation

Forest trees create a net of roots under the surface, anchoring the soil. When the trees are cut down, there is nothing left to keep the soil intact and able to resist erosion by wind or water. Hence, the result of deforestation would be the depleted, unusable soil, and flooding. Approximately a third of all arable land in the world has been lost due to soil erosion since 1960.

deforested area

Deforestation drives climate change through direct and indirect release of greenhouse gases (GHG). On the one hand, tree felling releases carbon in the atmosphere, leaving less trees to absorb CO2. On the other hand, agricultural activity on deforested land emits large amounts of methane (cattle and fertilizers). Combined, these emissions comprise a quarter of all emissions globally.

destroyed habitat of animals

Forests are complex ecosystems teeming with plant and animal life. Many animals live in trees or rely on forest environments to survive. Deforestation can destroy their habitats permanently, even causing some species to become extinct.

flooded forest

One of the less obvious effects of deforestation is a higher risk of flooding in the deforested area. Since trees absorb rain water both from the soil and through the leaves, there is less water left over to cause floods. Soil under trees can hold water better and is less likely to move around. In case of an intensive rainfall, water will accumulate on the surface, while loose soil may slide and block river channels, causing severe floods.

Deforestation Solutions

How to Stop Deforestation

Sustainable forest management practices

Deforestation can and should be sustainable. It's all about maintaining balance between meeting our needs in wood and paper products while preserving the natural cycle of forest loss and regeneration.

Government policies to control illegal logging

Governments know how to prevent deforestation from getting out of control by implementing stricter forest management regulations. Proper legislation prohibiting importation of illegal timber, along with an effective system of tracking timber harvesting, transportation, and sale, should be enough to stop illegal deforestation. Consumers can also play an active role in this battle by refusing to purchase uncertified timber products.

Place-based conservation practices

Apart from conservation legislation, place-based conservation practices include collaborative land and ecosystem management to enhance the ways we interact with and use the world’s forests. This specifically applies to agribusinesses and governments that should make more efforts in committing to decrease alarming deforestation rates.

Reforestation

Human-caused deforestation can be countered with reforestation. Planting trees in the deforested areas helps restore the habitat of a unique biodiversity and battles climate change.

Deforestation-free Commodity Chains

Although the number of companies with zero tolerance for deforestation is growing, there is still a long way to go. Global brands and retailers have to strive upon completely eliminating deforestation from their manufacturing and supply chains to support sustainable production. To achieve this, companies need to shift towards new methods and technologies to help supplement wood in their commodity chains. For instance, in fuel or construction materials production, recycling could be the key.

EOSDA Solutions for Deforestation

EOSDA Offers A Variety Of Deforestation Solutions

monitoring reforestation
  • Analyze and predict deforestation patterns with our catalog of historical and current satellite imagery
  • Monitor forest cover change, thermal anomalies, logging, and more
  • Receive email notifications about forest cover changes to improve decision-making
  • Monitor forest health: measure productivity and water stress
  • Access weather data archive and get a 14-day forecast
Technologies

How We Help You Battle Negative Effects Of Deforestation

MACHINE LEARNING

We harness machine learning to pull out invaluable insights on the state of your forests from satellite data

SATELLITE IMAGERY

Utilizing satellite imagery for timely and precise detection of changes occuring in your forests

ADVANCED ALGORITHMS

Applying a range of different algorithms to analyze the productivity of your forests and measure water stress.

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