Deforestation

Deforestation is the removal of established trees and often occurs on a large scale. Many logging companies strip out virtually all of the trees and cause huge damage to the undergrowth. Forest fires also cause deforestation on a huge scale. Steep slopes are particularly vulnerable as the soil supporting the trees is often very thin and deforestation allows heavy rain to wash the soil away leaving bare rock which new trees ain't keen on growing in. damage like this can cause the natural system to break down over thousands of square miles and cause loss of housing livelihoods and lives.

Deforestation removes the protective cover of the trees and when it rains on steep slopes the soil is washed away often huge mudslides or mud avalanches head down the valleys destroying roads and villages, rivers and lakes become choked with silt and many water creatures cannot survive in the cloudy water. hundreds of miles downstream lakes behind artificial dams become silted up and thousands of miles the fine sediment is washed into the sea blanketing and killing sea grass and coral ecosystems along the coastlines. Check out how seriously they take the threat of mudslides in the USA on the American Red Cross site

	BBC World News Rescue workers said that the reason 500 houses and over 1,000 people were buried under a huge landslide, was because the mountain overlooking Las Colinas had been deforested and cut away by building developers, despite protests and lawsuits. Click the image to read the full article.
	NASA Earthwatch If the current rate of deforestation continues, the world's rain forests will vanish within 100 years-causing unknown effects on global climate and eliminating the majority of plant and animal species on the planet. Click the image to read the full article.
	CBS News 17 Dead In Guatemalan Mudslide EL PORVENIR, Guatemala, Sept. 13, 2002 Heavy rains loosened a mountainside in western Guatemala, burying about 30 homes and killing at least 17 people. Officials said Friday that over two-dozen others were missing. Click the image to read the full article.