Editing Land use (section)

=== Deforestation ===
{{Main|Deforestation}}
[[File:Deforestation_of_Rainforest.jpg|thumb|Rainforest [[deforestation]] for land use conversion]]
[[Deforestation]] is the systematic and permanent conversion of previously forested land for other uses.<ref name=":17" /> It has historically been a primary facilitator of land use and land cover change.<ref name=":8" /> Forests are a vital part of the global ecosystem and are essential to [[Carbon capture and storage|carbon capture]], ecological processes, and [[biodiversity]].<ref name=":8" /> However, since the invention of agriculture, global forest cover has diminished by 35%.<ref name=":8" /> 

There is rarely one direct or underlying cause for deforestation.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |date=2007-03-30 |title=Tropical Deforestation |url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Deforestation/deforestation_update3.php#:~:text=Direct%20causes%20of%20deforestation%20are,single%20direct%20cause%20for%20deforestation. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331054947/https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/Deforestation/deforestation_update3.php#:~:text=Direct%20causes%20of%20deforestation%20are,single%20direct%20cause%20for%20deforestation. |archive-date=2021-03-31 |access-date=2021-04-08 |website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov |language=en}}</ref> Rather, deforestation is the result of intertwining systemic forces working simultaneously or sequentially to change land cover.<ref name=":12" /> Deforestation occurs for many interconnected reasons.<ref name=":92">{{Cite journal |last1=López-Carr |first1=David |last2=Burgdorfer |first2=Jason |date=2013-01-01 |title=Deforestation Drivers: Population, Migration, and Tropical Land Use |url= |journal=Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=3–11 |bibcode=2013ESPSD..55a...3L |doi=10.1080/00139157.2013.748385 |issn=0013-9157 |pmc=3857132 |pmid=24347675}}</ref> For instance, mass deforestation is often viewed as the product of industrial agriculture, yet a considerable portion [[old-growth forest]] deforestation is the result of small-scale migrant farming.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last1=López-Carr |first1=David |last2=Burgdorfer |first2=Jason |date=2013-01-01 |title=Deforestation Drivers: Population, Migration, and Tropical Land Use |url= |journal=Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development |volume=55 |issue=1 |pages=3–11 |bibcode=2013ESPSD..55a...3L |doi=10.1080/00139157.2013.748385 |issn=0013-9157 |pmc=3857132 |pmid=24347675}}</ref> As forest cover is removed, forest resources become exhausted and increasing populations lead to scarcity, which prompts people to move again to previously undisturbed forest, restarting the process of deforestation.<ref name=":9" /> There are several reasons behind this continued migration: poverty-driven lack of available farmland and high costs may lead to an increase in farming intensity on existing farmland.<ref name=":9" /> This leads to the overexploitation of farmland, and down the line results in [[desertification]], another land cover change, which renders soil unusable and unprofitable, requiring farmers to seek out untouched and unpopulated old-growth forests.<ref name=":9" />

In addition to rural migration and subsistence farming, economic development can also play a substantial role in deforestation.<ref name=":12" /> For example, road and railway expansions designed to increase quality of life have resulted in significant deforestation in the [[Amazon rainforest|Amazon]] and [[Central America]].<ref name=":12" /> Moreover, the underlying drivers of economic development are often linked to global economic engagement, ranging from increased [[Export|exports]] to a [[External debt|foreign debt]].<ref name=":12" />