Image: Wikimedia Commons

deforestation

Removal of forest and conversion of the land to non-forest use

Entityremoval resource depletion processQ169940

Also known as forest removal · clearing forested land · forest clearing · land clearing · forest clearance · destruction of forests

Instance of: removal
, resource depletion
, process
Subclass of: human impact on the environment
, environmental issue

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. About 31% of Earth's land surface is covered by forests at present. This is one-third less than the forest cover before the expansion of agriculture, with half of that loss occurring in the last century. On average 2,400 trees are cut down each minute. Estimates vary widely as to the extent of deforestation in the tropics. In 2019, nearly a third of the overall tree cover loss, or 3.8 million hectares, occurred within humid tropical primary forests. These are areas of mature rainforest that are especially important for biodiversity and carbon storage.

Overview

All data

115 statements · 14% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Followed by: tillage
reforestation
Opposite of: reforestation
Has effect: climate change
desertification
wildfire
extinction
soil erosion
habitat destruction
global warming
biodiversity loss
Show 3 moreShow less
zoonosis
soil retrogression and degradation
human extinction
Studied by: environmental science
Cause: agricultural expansion
logging
mining
effects of climate change
Facet of: forest
land development
deforestation and climate change
Has contributing factor: grazing
urbanization
invasive species
drought
Relates to sustainable development goal, target or indicator: Target 15.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals
1
Sources
1.“Goal 15: Life on land”globalgoals.org/goals/15-life-on-land/Retrieved 2025-05-11
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Members / parts: Deforestation by region
deforestation by continent
deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest
deforestation in Brazil
deforestation during the Roman period
Handled, mitigated, or managed by: reforestation
afforestation
Has list: list of organizations involved in deforestation

On other databases

64 identifiers linking deforestation across the web's reference databases

Data quality

115

statements

14%

externally sourced

Source last edited October 18, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). deforestation (Q169940). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/deforestation-Q169940