Question

Give reasons.

The rainforests are depleting.

Answer 1

There was a time when the green belt of rainforests covered about 12−14% of Earth’s land surface. Large-scale developmental activities have led to the clearing of large tracts of land in the rainforests (for example, clearing of land for agriculture, cattle pasture, wood, mining and road-building). Today, the rainforests cover only about 2−6% of the Earth’s land surface. Due to constant deforestation, the topsoil—which is held together by the trees—gets washed away as the rains fall. As a result, the once lush green forests change into barren landscapes.