A new study published this month in the journal Nature finds that there are many more trees on Earth than we suspected: 3 trillion. On the other hand, it also used the same sophisticated spatial analysis and satellite observation techniques to conclude that humans have removed a total of 3 trillion trees from the planet. That's right, you read it correctly. We've removed about 1/2 of all trees from the entire planet! Remember, we are just one species out of more than 10 million. 10,000 years ago there were more baboons on the planet than there were humans. And yet, in a few thousand years and, really, in the last two hundred, we've deforested so aggressively for agriculture and urbanization that we have started the 6th mass extinction event - the first caused directly by a species.
Note how misleading are some of the headlines about the report:
"Scientists discover that the world contains dramatically more trees than previously thought." (Washington Post)
"3 Trillion: Study Finds Many, Many More Trees Than Previously Estimated." (NBC News)
"Good news for the Earth: Study finds there are 3 trillion trees on the planet." (Fox News)
Of course it is nonsense to report this study as "good news," but then Fox and others know that very few people will actually look at the original scientific report. I did, however. The abstract of the report itself says that tree density is determined by, among other things, "the overwhelming effect of humans across most of the world. Based on our projected tree densities, we estimate that over 15 billion trees are cut down each year, and the global number of trees has fallen by approximately 46% since the start of human civilization." Good news. I'd say not.
Here's the reference and link to the original article: Mapping Tree Density at a Global Scale. Crowther, T. W. et al. Nature http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature14967 (2015).
A short (2.5 minute) video report from the journal about the article:
A short (2.5 minute) video report from the journal about the article:
