deforestation

[dee-fawr-uh-stey-shuhn, for-]

noun

1. the clearing or severe thinning of a forest or other wooded area, leaving few or no trees.

   Most of the world’s deforestation is happening in Brazil.

deforestation

1. The cutting down and removal of all or most of the trees in a forested area. Deforestation can erode soils, contribute to desertification and the pollution of waterways, and decrease biodiversity through the destruction of habitat.

deforestation

1. The process of destroying a forest and replacing it with something else. The term is used today to refer to the destruction of forests by human beings and their replacement by agricultural systems.

Deforestation is considered to be a main contributor to the greenhouse effect.

Word History and Origins

Origin of deforestation¹

First recorded in 1870–75; deforest ( def. ) + -ation ( def. )

Example Sentences

The new draft also weakened language around tackling deforestation.

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Some had proposed that agricultural runoff or nutrients released by rainforest deforestation were responsible.

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An African negotiator from a cocoa-exporting country said the EU's paused deforestation regulations -- requiring proof commodities don't come from recently cleared land -- were another major worry.

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The Amazon rainforest is already at risk of a renewed surge in deforestation as efforts grow to overturn a key ban to protect it.

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The Amazon rainforest could face a renewed surge of deforestation as efforts grow to overturn a long-standing ban that has protected it.

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Related Words

• desertification 
• erosion 
• logging