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the clearing or thinning of forests by humans.

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deforestation, the clearing or thinning of forests by humans. Deforestation represents one of the largest issues in global land use. Estimates of deforestation traditionally are based on the area of forest cleared for human use, including removal of the trees for wood products and for croplands and grazing lands. In the practice of clear-cutting, all the trees are removed from the land, which completely destroys the forest. In some cases, however, even partial logging and accidental fires thin out the trees enough to change the forest structure dramatically.

History

Conversion of forests to land used for other purposes has a long history. Earth's croplands, which cover about 49 million square km (18.9 million square miles), are mostly deforested land. Most present-day croplands receive enough rain and are warm enough to have once supported forests of one kind or another. Only about 1 million square km (390,000 square miles) of cropland are in areas that would have been cool boreal forests, as in Scandinavia and northern Canada. Much of the remainder was once moist subtropical or tropical forest or, in eastern North America, western Europe, and eastern China, temperate forest.

The extent to which forests have become Earth's grazing lands is much more difficult to assess. Cattle or sheep pastures in North America or Europe are easy to identify, and they support large numbers of animals. At least 2 million square km (772,204 square miles) of such forests have been cleared for grazing lands. Less certain are the humid tropical forests and some drier tropical woodlands that have been cleared for grazing. These often support only very low numbers of domestic grazing animals, but they may still be considered grazing lands by national authorities. Almost half the world is made up of " drylands"-areas too dry to support large numbers of trees-and most are considered grazing lands. There, goats, sheep, and cattle may harm what few trees are able to grow.

Although most of the areas cleared for crops and grazing represent permanent and continuing deforestation, deforestation can be transient. About half of eastern North America lay deforested in the 1870s, almost all of it having been deforested at least once since European colonization in the early 1600s. Since the 1870s the region's forest cover has increased, though most of the trees are relatively young. Few places exist in eastern North America that retain stands of uncut old-growth forests.

Modern deforestation

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that the annual rate of deforestation is about 1.3 million square km per decade, though the rate has slowed in some places in the early 21st century as a result of enhanced forest management practices and the establishment of nature preserves. The greatest deforestation is occurring in the tropics, where a wide variety of forests exists. They range from rainforests that are hot and wet year-round to forests that are merely humid and moist, to those in which trees in varying proportions lose their leaves in the dry season, and to dry open woodlands. Because boundaries between these categories are inevitably arbitrary, estimates differ regarding how much deforestation has occurred in the tropics.

A major contributor to tropical deforestation is the practice of slash-and-burn agriculture, or swidden agriculture ( see also shifting agriculture). Small-scale farmers clear forests by burning them and then grow crops in the soils fertilized by the ashes. Typically, the land produces for only a few years and then must be abandoned and new patches of forest burned. Fire is also commonly used to clear forests in Southeast Asia, tropical Africa, and the Americas for permanent oil palm plantations.

Additional human activities that contribute to tropical deforestation include commercial logging and land clearing for cattle ranches and plantations of rubber trees, oil palm, and other economically valuable trees.

The Amazon Rainforest is the largest remaining block of humid tropical forest, and about two-thirds of it is in Brazil. (The rest lies along that country's borders to the west and to the north.) Studies in the Amazon reveal that about 5,000 square km (1,931 square miles) are at least partially logged each year. In addition, each year fires burn an area about half as large as the areas that are cleared. Even when the forest is not entirely cleared, what remains is often a patchwork of forests and fields or, in the event of more intensive deforestation, "islands" of forest surrounded by a "sea" of deforested areas.

The commercial palm oil industry rapidly expanded in the late 20th century and led to the deforestation of significant swaths of Indonesia and Malaysia as well as large areas in Africa. New plantations are often formed using slash-and-burn agricultural methods, and the resulting fragmentation of natural forests and loss of habitat threatens native plants and animals. Bornean and Sumatran orangutans are especially iconic species threatened by the expansion of oil palm farming in Indonesia.

Deforested lands are being replanted in some areas. Some of this replanting is done to replenish logging areas for future exploitation, and some replanting is done as a form of ecological restoration, with the reforested areas made into protected land. Additionally, significant areas are planted as monotypic plantations for lumber or paper production. These are often plantations of eucalyptus or fast-growing pines -and almost always of species that are not native to the places where they are planted. The FAO estimates that there are approximately 1.3 million square km (500,000 square miles) of such plantations on Earth.

Many replanting and reforestation efforts are led and funded by the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations. However, some national governments have also undertaken ambitious replanting projects. For example, starting in 2017, the government of New Zealand sought to plant more than 100 million trees per year within its borders, but perhaps the most ambitious replanting project took place in India on a single day in 2017, when citizens planted some 66 million trees.

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Deforestation | Definition, History, Consequences, & Facts

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Deforestation, clearing or thinning of forests by humans to make the land available for other uses. Deforestation is a major driver of terrestrial habitat loss and habitat fragmentation and contributes to global warming. Learn about historical and modern deforestation and its effects.

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Push factor is a geography term that is used to describe any kind of influencing factor that motivates a person to leave one's country or region, but can also be applied to ones organization

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What Does Push Factors Mean?

A push factor is a factor that motivates a person to migrate away from their country or region of residence. Push factors are often used with negative connotation, since they often consist of problems, distressing situations, and political or economic failures.

Examples of potential problems that may cause a geographic push factor include:

Lack of jobs or opportunities

Absence of good educational institutes

Poor medical care

Poverty

Famine or drought

War and political conflicts

Religious or political persecution

Natural disasters

Pollution

Poor hygienic conditions

Inadequate public services

Safeopedia Explains Push Factors

Economic conditions are the most common push factor motivating people to emigrate from their country or geographical region. However, other factors can still play a major role, including concerns about health and safety.

Push factors can be contrasted with pull factors, which are the conditions that attract people to move to a particular region. Both are intertwined, since the push factors motivate people to leave their area of residence while the pull factors play a role in determining their country, state, or municipality of destination.

Workplace Safety as a Push Factor

Workers might be motivated to emigrate because of the high level of risks they face on the job. This is especially true of those who are employed in highly hazardous industries, such as oil and gas or construction.

In jurisdictions where occupational safety regulations are inadequate, inexistent, or unenforced, workers may not be provided with machine guards, rest and hydration breaks, adequate PPE, fall protection equipment, or other things they need to carry out their work safely. The fear of coming to harm on the job can be a strong movitation to leave in favor of a geographical area where they can earn a living without undue risk of illness, injury, or fatality. .

Main Factors Affecting Migration

Sociopolitical, economic, and ecological factors

Ethnic and religious intolerance

Violence or political unrest

Significant economic disparities

Food insecurity and unreliable access to clean drinking water

Lack of adequate education and employment opportunities

Human rights abuses and lack of freedom of expression

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What are Push Factors? - Definition from Safeopedia

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A push factor is a factor that motivates a person to migrate away from their country or region of residence. Push factors are often used with negative connotation, since they often consist of problems, distressing situations, and political or economic failures.

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Pull factor is a geography term that is used to describe factors that attract people to a country, region, religion, organization

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What are pull factors? - Definition from Safeopedia

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Pull Factors Definition - Pull factor is a geography term that is used to describe factors that attract people to a country, region, religion,...

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1. a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator.

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📙 Middle School Level

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

[ dik-tey-ter-ship, dik-tey- ] SHOW IPA

/ dɪkˈteɪ tərˌʃɪp, ˈdɪk teɪ- / PHONETIC RESPELLING

📙 Middle School Level

This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.

a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator.

absolute, imperious, or overbearing power or control.

the office or position held by a dictator.

COMPARE COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS

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ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Which of the following words describes "sky blue"?

Origin of dictatorship

First recorded in 1580-90; dictator + -ship

Words nearby dictatorship

dictate, dictating machine, dictation, dictator, dictatorial, dictatorship, diction, dictionary, dictionary and thesaurus, dictionary attack, dictionary catalog

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Words related to dictatorship

How to use dictatorship in a sentence

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British Dictionary definitions for dictatorship

the rank, office, or period of rule of a dictator

government by a dictator or dictators

a country ruled by a dictator or dictators

absolute or supreme power or authority

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for dictatorship

Government by a single person or by a junta or other group that is not responsible to the people or their elected representatives.

notes for dictatorship

Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were dictators.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Definition of dictatorship | Dictionary.com

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📙 Middle School Level This shows grade level based on the word's complexity. [ dik-tey-ter-ship, dik-tey- ] SHOW IPA / dɪkˈteɪ tərˌʃɪp, ˈdɪk teɪ- / PHONETIC RESPELLING 📙 Middle School Level This shows grade level based on the word's complexity. a country, government, or the form of government in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator.

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1. the composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure,humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years.

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wear away or change the appearance or texture of (something) by long exposure to the air.

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able to be maintained at a certain rate or level.

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the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

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originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native.

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a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g., forest or tundra.

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clearing of trees in a wide are mostly for ranching

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the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long perio

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an area from which every tree has been cut down and removed

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a large naturally occurring community of flora and fauna occupying a major habit

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the regions between the tropics of cancer and capricorn

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the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem

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the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level

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not being able to be maintained at the current rate or level

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a tropical woodland with an annual rainfall of at least 100 inches and marked by lofty evergreen trees forming a canopy

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something that makes someone want to leave a place or escape from a particular situation

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2.pull factor
3.clear cut
4.land use conflict
5.canopy
6.lower story
7.deforestation
8.sustainable development
9.biodiversity
10climate

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The clearing of trees in a wide area.
Usually done for cattle ranching

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The weather conditions prevailing in an area over a long period of time

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An area from which all the trees are removed/cut down

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A large community of fauna occupying a major habit

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The Regions between the tropics of capricorn and cancer

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The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem

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The ability to be maintained at a certain level

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Not being able to be maintained at a certain level

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A tropical woodland with an annual rainfall of at least 100.

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Something that drives someone out of an area for a particular situation

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the clearing or thinning of forests by humans

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geography term that is used to describe factors that attract people to a country, region, religion, organization

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geography term that is used to describe nay kind of influencing factor that motivates a person to leave one's country or region, but can also be applied to ones organization.

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the composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, etc. throughout the year , averaged over series of years

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a country, government, or the form in which absolute power is exercised by a dictator

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wear away or change the appearance or texture of (something) by long exposure to the air.

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able to be maintain at a certain rate or level

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the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

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organization or occurring naturally in a particular place;native.

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a large naturally occurring community of floral and fauna occupying a major habitat, e.g., forest or tundra