Deforestation significantly disrupts the water cycle in several key ways:
- Reduced Transpiration and Evaporation: Trees absorb water from the soil and release it into the atmosphere through transpiration, adding moisture that contributes to cloud formation and rainfall. When trees are cut down, this process diminishes, leading to lower humidity and reduced precipitation, which can cause drought and desertification in affected areas
- Altered Rainfall Patterns: The loss of forest cover decreases the amount of water vapor entering the atmosphere, disrupting local and even regional rainfall patterns. For example, deforestation in the Amazon has contributed to decreased rainfall and severe droughts, with similar effects observed in other tropical forests and even distant regions like Texas
- Increased Runoff and Soil Erosion: Without tree roots to anchor soil and absorb rainwater, more water runs off the surface, increasing soil erosion. This leads to higher sediment and pollutant levels in nearby water bodies, degrading water quality and increasing the cost and difficulty of water treatment
- Decreased Water Infiltration: Tree roots normally help rainwater infiltrate the soil, replenishing groundwater. Deforestation reduces infiltration, leading to less groundwater recharge and more surface runoff, which can cause flooding and reduce water availability during dry periods
- Impact on Water Quality and Availability: The combination of reduced rainfall, increased erosion, and runoff results in diminished clean water supplies. Studies have shown that deforestation correlates with decreased access to clean drinking water, as sediment and pollutants increase turbidity and contamination in water sources
In summary, deforestation disrupts the water cycle by lowering atmospheric moisture and rainfall, increasing runoff and erosion, reducing groundwater recharge, and degrading water quality. These changes contribute to drought, flooding, loss of freshwater resources, and challenges in maintaining clean drinking water
