Deforestation as a Cause of Climate Change

The research question that has been pondering for quite a while is "does deforestation lead to climate change through its mediating attributes of mean ambient temperatures as evidenced by modern geospatial technologies?" This question is vital to all professional environmental sources and their methods as it evaluates the effect of modern techniques at detecting the links between dependent and outcome variables in the issue of climate change and vegetation cover. The use of modern technologies to ascertain the extent of damage due to human activities on the environment will emerge if the answer were to be confirmed (Stanturf, 2017). However, an answer otherwise means that the link gets broken and alternative methods may need to come to play to resolve the mystery. Above all, the question evaluates the causal relationship between deforestation and climate change as a matter of reaffirming the frequent claim by past studies that confirm the topic that it is true(Stanturf, 2017). Personally, the answer to this inquiry will inform future practices in environmental conservation regarding deforestation prevention practices. The current research investigates the assumption that deforestation leads to climate change through its mediating attributes of mean ambient temperatures as evidenced by modern geospatial technologies. This answer is likely due to past reports that deforestation contributes to climate change. Still, the proposed hypothesis relates to the expectation that advanced technologies are better than old counterparts in determining links among environmental factors and outcomes.

The first research on the hypothesis is by Longobardi, Montenegro, Beltrami, and Eby (2016) that investigated the possible effect of deforestation as the climate change through topographic and weather condition modeling by altitude. They used the modern method of geospatial mapping via spatial scale to determine the changes in the vegetation covers over time and the resultant effects on the moderation effects of on the average ambient temperatures. Still, the researchers involved the other influential factors of atmospheric carbon dioxide gas as well as the amount of the ambient energy. Rainfall, carbon sink, and mass balance, and surface energy provide the means of strengthening the evidence on ambient temperatures as the precursor to climate change as a result of deforestation (Longobardi et al., 2016). The investigators found that the ambient temperatures varied with the altitudes, the lower the height above the sea level the lower the amount of heat on the surface on removing trees. However, the amounts of carbon in the soil increased; thus, the possibility of an increase in the ambient temperatures become strong. Indeed, the places with a higher density of trees exhibited lowered carbon levels – an indication of the carbon sink function of forests (Longobardi et al., 2016). In other words, removal of the trees signals an increase in air carbon levels and temperatures – climate change. This study widens the view on the ability to use modeling techniques to assess links between deforestation and climate change.

Lawrence and Vandecar (2015) examined the influence that clearing of trees has on climate change as well as the agricultural activities. For this research, however, the concern remains at the level that the deforestation impact climate change. The researchers used mesoscale in geographic mapping for the land use and vegetation discontinuities; then, compared the result to the frequencies and amounts of rainfall as well as the mean ambient temperatures. They found that both attributes of frequency and amounts of precipitation as the tree cover on the topographic images showed a decline over time. However, they realized that the mean air temperatures increased as the vegetative cover reduced. Therefore, the investigators concluded that the reduction in the tree cover, deforestation, was responsible for the observed reduced rainfall. Indeed, the study by Lawrence and Vandecar (2015) employs modern technology of topographic mapping to assess their objective and hypothesis, thus the level of credibility of the results is indisputable. This study, therefore, introduces the ability to learn about the links among factors involved in environmental conservation, climate, change, and deforestation on human survival on the planet.

Besides, Longobardi, Montenegro, Beltrami, and Eby (2012) further the use of the technology of modeling climate areas using a spatial scale and monitoring the outcomes that relate to the cutting of trees. The investigators acknowledge the link between deforestation, on the one hand, and the moderating factors of atmospheric temperatures, carbon levels, and other applicable attributes on the other. The moderating roles of altitude and topography also applied. Indeed, this study is similar to (Longobardi et al., 2016), but it carries some elements of energy balance and the mass of substances on the surface as unique attributes. The manipulation of the factors occurred across the altitudes and forest cover. The amounts of tree covers were moderated by 5% for each of the tests done by the scholars (Longobardi et al., 2012). The result shows that effect of ambient carbon levels and temperatures were mixed for the middle altitudes; however, the lower lands experienced and reduction in temperature when the forest cover reduced. The opposite was right for the highest elevations involved (Longobardi et al., 2012). In other words, the ambient temperature got altered for every altitude examined. The changes in the air temperatures and carbon levels from their natural variants prove the existence of climate change amid deforestation. The use of modeling to learn environmental issues and links among elements become vital contributions of this source. Hence, one can easily design of experimental to inquire about critical environmental science issues become possible.

Lastly, Archana (2013) also evaluated the influence of deforestation on climate change through observed alterations to topographical attributes of landscapes and ecosystems. This study is an explorative approach; thus, it offers a critical review of the recent literature on the manner cutting down of trees influence climate change. This in-depth inquiry is a new perspective to the predominantly quantitative methods used by the rest of the scholar so far mentioned. From the literature, it emerges that the act of deforestation leads to many environmental factors other than climate change (Archana, 2013). For instance, extinction of species due to changed habitat, food availability, and niches results in a general reduction in the biomes. Eventually, the forest cover continues to shrink through the natural selection process as ecological cascades increase. Thus, the author concludes that the speed of climate change would even grow in pace as the replenishing of the land cover by vegetation become impossible (Archana, 2013). Therefore, a link between deforestation and climate change emerges. Nevertheless, the use of modern technology in the appraisal of the impact of reduced vegetation cover on climate change lacked in the inquiry. This research demonstrates the valuable method of qualitative approach to evaluate a hypothesis; it shows how to investigate the link climate change and many of its causes, including deforestation.

All of the four sources supported the hypothesis that deforestation leads to climate change through its mediating attributes of mean ambient temperatures as evidenced by modern geospatial technologies. Longobardi et al. (2016) provide a result that sunspot the hypothesis through the use of advanced technology of climate modeling to show the influence that removal of trees from the environment impact global warming factors of temperature and carbon levels. It indicates the link between the tree cover and the ambient mean temperature as through the spatial scale model; thus, the study uses the sound methodology to lead to a reliable result. Lawrence and Vandecar (2015) also provide results that show that, indeed, the hypotheses that deforestation leads to climate change through its mediating attributes of mean ambient temperatures and rainfall as evidenced by modern geospatial technologies. By using topographic mapping, the study proves that the level of trees in a landscape determines the carbon levels, temperatures, and surface energy. All these three attributes can change the climatic conditions of a region. Thus, the alterations lead to climate change.

Longobardi et al. (2012) also provide an experimental study that is closely similar to Longobardi et al. (2016), but it carries the wealth of more attributes that mater in the determination of climate change. It focuses on the influences of altitudes, tree covers, and topography on the climate change elements of ambient mean temperatures, carbon concentration in the soil and on the surface, as well as the current energy and mass balance. The results show that variations occur within temperatures and carbon factors the ground and on land. Therefore, Longobardi et al. (2012) also support the hypothesis that deforestation leads to climate change through its mediating attributes of mean ambient temperatures as evidenced by modern geospatial technologies. Lastly, the input of Archana (2013) remains invaluable in bridging the qualitative and quantitative gaps it complements the result of the experimental designs of the other three studies. On its part, Archana (2013) evaluates the impact that deforestation has, and one of them becomes climate change through a raft of precursors. Some of these mediating variables are alterations to ecosystems, extinction of species, and deforestation. In other words, the act of cutting down trees leads to a cycle of unfriendly environmental practices that predispose to climate change.

In conclusion, the hypothesis that deforestation leads to climate change through its mediating attributes of mean ambient temperatures as evidenced by modern geospatial technologies gets affirmed. Although some studies included other variables other than heat in the determination of how deforestation impacts climate change, the current study focused on the average ambient temperatures as the main focus of the hypothesis, with the other attributes offering supportive roles. Carbon levels also feature in determining outcomes from the activities of cutting down trees. Nevertheless, the thesis focused on the characteristic of ambient temperature determination using modern technology. Therefore, the four sources concur in supporting the hypothesis. This knowledge will prove invaluable in environmental conservation through the planting of trees and preventing cutting down of existing ones. Besides, the use of this knowledge on the practice of carrying out biological experiments to inform proper decision making becomes key in the profession. The most exciting part is the use of critical reviews to evaluate a hypothesis from a qualitative point of view. Everyone in the field of environmental science will find the result of this study useful.

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