Deforestation MCQ - Practice Questions with Answers

• Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forested ones.
•  A number of human activities contribute to deforestation.
• One of the major reasons is the conversion of forest to agricultural land so as to feed the growing human population. 
• Trees are axed for timber, firewood, cattle ranching and for several other purposes. Slash and burn agriculture, commonly called as Jhum cultivation in the north-eastern states of India, has also contributed to deforestation. 
• In slash and burn agriculture, the farmers cut down the trees of the forest and burn the plant remains. 
• The ash is used as a fertiliser and the land is then used for farming or cattle grazing.
• After cultivation, the area is left for several years so as to allow its recovery. 
• The farmers then move on to other areas and repeat this process. 
• In earlier days, when Jhum cultivation was in prevalence, enough time-gap was given such that the land recovered from the effect of cultivation. 
• With increasing population, and repeated cultivation, this recovery phase is done away with, resulting in deforestation. 

Consequences of deforestation: 

• One of the major effects is enhanced carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere because trees that could hold a lot of carbon in their biomass are lost with deforestation.
• Deforestation also causes loss of biodiversity due to habitat destruction, disturbs hydrologic cycle, causes soil erosion, and may lead to desertification in extreme cases. 

Reforestation:

• Reforestation is the process of restoring a forest that once existed but was removed at some point of time in the past. 
• Reforestation may occur naturally in a deforested area. However, we can speed it up by planting trees with due consideration to biodiversity that earlier existed in that area.