Deforestation is the large-scale, often permanent removal of forest cover, typically through logging, burning, or land conversion for agriculture, infrastructure, or resource extraction, resulting in the reduction or fragmentation of forest ecosystems. As a research topic, it encompasses quantifying forest loss using remote sensing and geospatial analysis, assessing impacts on carbon stocks, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, hydrological cycles, and soil integrity, and examining social-ecological drivers such as governance, commodity markets, and land-use policies. Deforestation studies also investigate feedbacks to climate systems, resilience thresholds, and the effectiveness of interventions including protected areas, certification schemes, and zero-deforestation supply-chain commitments.
A new LMU study estimates that land use changes in conjunction with climate change could lead to the loss of up to 38% of the Amazon rainforest by the end of the 21st century.
Earth Sciences
Dec 15, 2025
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64
Destroyed habitats, poaching, and prey depletion have dramatically reduced tiger habitats around the world. Today, tigers occupy just 5–10% of their historical habitats. But on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an important ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 4, 2025
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120
The deadly flooding that has killed hundreds in Indonesia was largely the result of monsoon rains and a rare tropical storm. But something else may have played a role: deforestation.
Environment
Dec 2, 2025
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43
New research warns that Africa's forests, once vital allies in the fight against climate change, have turned from a carbon sink into a carbon source.
Environment
Nov 28, 2025
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Some of the world's best-known chocolate, from Mars to KitKat, is likely linked to deforestation in Liberia's rainforest despite many brands' claims of sustainability, according to research published by NGO Global Witness ...
Environment
Nov 25, 2025
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19
Even Swedish consumption contributes to the loss of rainforest—and nowadays coffee has overtaken beef as the product affecting deforestation the most. This is shown in a new report from the WWF in which Chalmers has participated, ...
Environment
Nov 24, 2025
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93
Who owns the rainforest—and who has the right to use it—might seem like a simple question.
Earth Sciences
Nov 21, 2025
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25
With a spotlight on the Brazilian Amazon, where agriculture drives a significant chunk of deforestation and planet-warming emissions, many of the activists, scientists and government leaders at United Nations climate talks ...
Environment
Nov 21, 2025
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14
A US$125 billion rainforest fund is being hailed as a flagship announcement from the 2025 UN climate summit in Belém, Brazil. The goal is noble: this is essentially a trust fund that will pay countries to keep their tropical ...
Environment
Nov 21, 2025
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20
A new system could overhaul maps that misclassify hundreds of thousands of smallholder coffee and cacao farmers as working in forests. Without better maps, deforestation regulations could ripple through markets from remote ...
Biotechnology
Nov 19, 2025
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25
