Deforestation and climate change

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/deforestation-and-climate-change

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the forest cover percentage?Forests currently cover 31% of the Earth's land area
2. What is the annual deforestation rate?Approximately 75,700 square kilometers of forest are lost annually
3. What happens when trees are cut down?Cutting trees releases stored carbon into the air, adding more CO2 and making the planet warmer.
4. Why do forests help stop climate change?Forests absorb CO2 from the air and store it in their trunks, branches, roots, and soil, acting as big carbon sinks.

Anthropogenic: Originating from human activity.
Carbon Sequestration: The process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Positive Feedback Loop: A process where the output of a system amplifies the original stimulus, leading to further change.