How Humans Are Impacting Trees

The human race is considered one of the most devastating species to grace the planet. After all, we destroy and affect everything that would otherwise be safe without our presence. For example, there are a whole range of wildlife on the verge of extinction thanks to deforestation, global warming is at an all-time high causing the polar ice caps to melt at a staggering rate and the way we dispose of waste is abysmal and unsustainable. In terms of trees we are putting at risk our method of gaining oxygen! Here are a few ways that humans, and even animals, are impacting the trees of the planet…

Deforestation

By definition deforestation is ‘the clearance or clearing and removal of a forest where the land is converted into non-forest use’ and is a global issue that we should be tackling head on. Of course, it is also a problem created by humans. Not only does deforestation destroy habitats, it also limits our population of trees which can put the atmosphere at risk!

Fragmentation of Habitats

This is the process of how habitat loss can cause large habitats to turn into smaller isolated areas and there are some serious consequences that can come of it. In fact, squirrels could once travel across forests without every touching the ground! Instead these vast forests are now small fragments which has caused the habitats to split too, jeopardising the integrity of the ecosystem. The overall cause of this is deforestation, a human activity.

Overgrazing and Farming

A lot of the made up off farmland so there is a lot of space that is not being occupied by forestry. Tree regeneration is at an all time low in 200 years and it is though that large herbivores overgrazing could be the cause as sheep for example are eating the seedlings before they have a chance to actually grow into a tree. The red deer has actually increase by 300,000 since 1965 because there are no predators to control it, limiting the growth of trees.

Luckily we are a point where we can stop what we are doing before it causing irreversible consequences and simply planting more trees can help combat the damage that deforestation and other tree harvesting methods are causing. To find out more information, get in contact with the our tree surgeons today!