The process of clearing, removing, or destroying forests, typically for land development, agriculture, or logging.
From de- (removal) + forest. The prefix de- comes from Latin meaning 'down' or 'away from', while forest comes from Old French 'forest' (uncultivated land). The term emerged in the 20th century as environmental concerns grew.
Deforestation is one of the fastest ways humans change Earth's landscape—we lose about 27 football fields of forest every minute! The word itself is relatively young, reflecting how recently we've named this massive global problem.
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