How does deforestation effect the ecosystem?

1. http://www.wbmfoundation.org

NASA predicts that if the level of destruction continues that the rainforests will be gone in 100 years. Scientists say that the extinction rate is 1000 times higher than it used to be. Deforestation is a big contributor to that extinction rate increasing. Biodiversity is very high in tropical rainforests and therefore by cutting them down, the extinction goes up a lot. A lot of hot spots (places with a lot of biodiversity and endangered species) are forests and so cutting them down has a big negative impact on the environment and the human race. If one species goes extinct then a lot of others will too since they are all connected in the circle of life. For example if gazelles were to go extinct due to not enough food resources, then a lot of the big cats would too because one of their main food sources is gone.

You may be thinking: Why should i care about the gazelles and their population? And to answer your question you should be concerned about every species. Whether it be a gazelle, a baboon, a sparrow, or a penguin. All of nature and living things are connected in some way, shape, or form and so if species start to go extinct in a mass extinction, we will be effeted by it. If we were to clear a forest in which for example bats lived, then there would be a big chain reaction. The bats can be carrying a disease that stayed in their species, but if we put stress on them and make them venture further to find food then they could end up contaminating food we eat, therefore giving us a desease that we have never been introduced to before making it very hard to cue and killing a lot of people.