Example
Clearing woodland for agriculture can release stored carbon and remove habitat.
The catch
Definitions differ in canopy thresholds and minimum area.
Related terms
Afforestation, Biodiversity, Blue carbon, Carbon sink, Carbon stock, Ecosystem
In more depth
Deforestation, explained.
Deforestation is driven mainly by agricultural expansion for crops and cattle, and supply chains have become a major lever against it. EU rules on deforestation-free products set due diligence duties for commodities such as cocoa, coffee, palm oil and soy, requiring evidence that they did not come from recently cleared land. Protection in one place can also shift clearing elsewhere, a form of leakage that project accounting has to address.
Gross and net figures tell different stories. Net deforestation subtracts new planting from losses, so a country can report a stable forest area while old-growth forest disappears and plantations replace it. Forest degradation, where trees remain but the forest's condition declines, adds further emissions that clearance statistics miss.