Deforestation is the clearing, destroying, or otherwise removal of trees through deliberate, natural, or accidental means. It can occur in any area densely populated by trees and other plant life, but the majority of it is currently happening in the Amazon rainforest.
The loss of trees and other vegetation not only affects the climate by increasing the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide but also affects the environment by inhibiting water recycling, triggering severe flooding, aquifer depletion, soil degradation, and the extinction of plant and animal species
Deforestation is caused by the growing demand for forest products and the conversion of forests to agriculture as the human population continues to expand.
In 1750 cropland and pastureland occupied 6-7% of the global land surface; by 1990 cropland and pastureland occupied 35-39% of the global land surface. It is estimated that the world is currently losing over 9 million hectares per year, an area the size of Portugal.
In [1,2], the authors claimed that the forest fragmentation is one of the main threats to natural tree populations in the tropics around the world, where large areas of forests have been transformed into pastures and crops, thus creating a mosaic of agricultural areas and forests in which forests remain as small scattered patches.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2020 report [3], the tropical forests in South America underwent a net loss of 2.6 million hectares in the 2010–2020 period, although the deforestation rate has decreased significantly when compared to 2000–2010.
More specifically, Ecuador maintained the highest deforestation rates in South America during the period 1990–2010, with annual rates of between − 1.5% to − 1.8% [4] and with overall deforestation of 21,340 km2 between 1990 and 2020 [3].
Ecuador is undergoing a high rate of deforestation, and the seasonally dry forest is no exception [5]. 2631.91 km2 of seasonally dry forest have been converted to other land uses in the last three decades (87% of the forest that was deforested between 1990 and 2018 had been transformed into agricultural land by 2018, while 7% had been transformed into scrubland), with the extinction of many patches, thus causing a constant increase in fragmentation.
This high fragmentation rate suggests the urgency of implementing effective conservation measures to preserve the remaining Ecuadorian seasonal dry forest patches and promoting connectivity, with the eventual goal of preventing the disappearance of new areas and ensuring the functional ecology of the remaining forests.
References:
- Trejo I, Dirzo R (2000) Deforestation of seasonally dry tropical forest: a national and local analysis in Mexico. Biol Conserv 94(2):133–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(99)00188-3
- Fuchs EJ, Lobo JA, Quesada M (2003) Effects of forest fragmentation and flowering phenology on the reproductive success and mating patterns of the tropical dry forest tree Pachira quinata. Conserv Biol 17(1):149–157. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2003.01140.x
- FAO (2020a) Evaluación de los recursos forestales mundiales 2020, Roma. https://doi.org/10.4060/ca8753es
- FAO (2011) State of the World’s forests 2011. Roma http://www.fao.org/3/i2000e/i2000e00.htm [Accessed: 24 April 2022]
- Sierra, R., 2013. Patrones y factores de deforestación en el Ecuador continental, 1990-2010. Y un acercamiento a los próximos, 10, p.57.
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