• Increased Greenhouse Gases

With the loss of trees, it allows a greater amount of greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere such as CO2 and methane. Methane can be very abundant in the atmosphere from cattle farms that take up much of the land that has been deforested. Deforestation accounts for anywhere between 6 to 12 percent of our global carbon dioxide emissions

• Loss of Habitat

Rainforests consist of around 80% of documented species and provide shelter for many of these plants and animal species' and destroying these forests contributes to an astronomical amount of loss in biodiversity. “Tropical forests host more than 13 million distinct species, representing more than two-thirds of all the world’s plants and animals. Experts estimate that in the course of a decade between two and five percent of all rain forest species will become extinct, largely as a result of habitat loss caused by deforestation” (FAO)

• Soil Erosion and Flooding

Trees function to retain water and topsoil, and when there are no trees present in an area where it used to be a forest, it leads to soil erosion. "Soil erosion, while a natural process, accelerates with deforestation. Roots bind the soil and prevent it from washing away. The absence of vegetation causes the topsoil to erode more quickly." (Ronca)

• Water in the Atmosphere

Trees also help control the amount of water in the atmosphere by helping regulate the Water Cycle; and when there are less trees present there is less water in the atmosphere which leads to less water returned to the soil.