The Amazon rainforest is being destroyed at an alarming rate, with 20% of it disappearing in the last 40 years due to deforestation, which is causing soil erosion, species extinction, and desertification. As trees are cut down and burned, the thin layer of soil is washed away, killing remaining trees and leaving wasteland. This upsets the natural balance and leads to diseases, as well as spreading deserts and potential global food shortages. Traditional Yakihata agriculture had maintained soil fertility through balanced burning of forests for ash fertilizer.

1. Deforestation Tropical forest -The Amazon-