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| Deforestation |
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| Deforestation means clearing of forests to claim land for use by man. |
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| 1) Population explosion |
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| Large areas of forests have been cleaned for agriculture, factories, road and rail tracks, industries, mining and quarrying have seriously affected the forest. |
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| 2) Fires |
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| Forest fires destroy trees, seeds and the animal life. |
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| 3) Pests |
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| Many kinds of insect pests destroy forests by eating the shoots and spreading diseases. |
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| 4) Grazing and gnawing mammals |
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| These animal seat, trample the young plants, and damage their trunks and roots. |
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| 5) Weather |
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| Storm and snow damage the forests. These natural forces are beyond human power to control. |
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| 6) Dams |
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| Barriers constructed across rivers to prevent floods submerge and kill large tracts of forests. |
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| 7) Jhuming (Shifting cultivation) |
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| In certain parts of India, forests are burnt and the ash is mixed with the soil and the land used for cultivation. |
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| Effects of Deforestation |
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| 1) Percolation and ground water recharge has decreased. |
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| 2) Floods and drought have become more frequent. |
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| 3) Soil erosion has increased. |
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| 4) Pattern of rainfall has changed. |
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| 5) Land slides and avalanches are on the increase. |
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| 6) Climate has become warmer in the deforested region due to lack of humidity added by the plants. |
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| 7) Consumption of CO2 and production of O2 is adversely affected. |
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| 8) Man has been deprived of the benefits of trees and animals. |
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| 9) Extinction of many species of plants and animals, still not discovered by scientists. |
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| 10) Shortage of fuel |
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| Effects of deforestation in the biosphere |
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