Deforestation is when people cut down whole forests of trees, making it less likely for humans to survive. Deforestation is the permanent destruction of indigenous forests and woodlands. It has resulted in the reduction of indigenous forests to four-fifths of their pre-agricultural area. Trees and plants supply oxygen, absorb carbon dioxide, and hold down the soil from washing away and making dangerous landslides. The destruction and cutting down of forests is often done to clear land for farming, mining, roads, and grazing of cattle. That causes increased atmospheric CO2 levels, a factor in global warming. Currently, 12 million hectares of forests are cleared annually. Almost all of this deforestation occurs in the moist forests and open woodlands of the tropics. The difference between forests and woodlands is that in a forest the crowns of individual trees touch to form a single canopy. In woodland, trees grow far apart, so that the canopy is open. All moist tropical forest could be lost by the year 2050, except for isolated areas in Amazonia, the Zaire basin, as well as a few protected areas within reserves and parks. Deforestation happens by conversion of forests and woodlands to agricultural land to feed growing numbers of people and the development of cash crops and cattle ranching, both of which earn money for tropical countries. Also, the commercial logging destroys trees as well as opening up forests for agriculture. The poor soils of the humid tropics do not support agriculture for long, Even though people are often forced to move on and clear more forests in order
