How Does Deforestation Affect the Air?

Oxygen

• Humans require oxygen to survive. Oxygen is a limited resource that exists in the air. The oxygen you breathe is released by trees and other plants in a process called photosynthesis. During this process, the tree uses the carbon dioxide in the air to make food. Oxygen is a byproduct released back into the air. When deforestation occurs, there are fewer trees to complete the process of photosynthesis and, thus, less oxygen released into the air.

Carbon Dioxide

• Trees use the carbon dioxide found in the air to make food. One of the major sources of the carbon dioxide in the air is a byproduct of human breathing. When there are fewer trees because of deforestation, the amount of carbon dioxide in the air increases. An increase in the carbon dioxide in the air contributes to the phenomenon of global warming. In addition to the reduction of photosynthesis, if deforestation is done via burning, unused carbon dioxide is released back into the air.

Greenhouse Gases

• Besides carbon dioxide, other greenhouse gases, such as methane and nitrous oxide, increase as a result of deforestation. Trees bear some of the responsibility of absorbing these gases out of the air to prevent levels from growing too high. When there are fewer trees to absorb the gases, the levels of these gases increase, which further contributes to the effects of global warming. The effects of global warming thus increase in severity more quickly.

Air Temperature

• One of the factors that determines the air temperature is how much of the sun's light is reflected off the surface of the Earth. In areas where there is an abundance of trees, a larger portion of the sun's light reflects back off the tops of the trees rather than reaching the ground. This creates cooler temperatures in the area surrounding the trees. When deforestation occurs, more of the sun's rays reach the ground and thus increase the temperature of the air.