Disruption of the water cycle

• Trees play an important role in the water cycle, because they absorb water from the soil and then release it into the atmosphere in the form of water vapour (transpiration)
• A large portion of the rain that falls in a forest is intercepted by the tree canopy, where it returns to the atmosphere by evaporation
• Deforestation therefore results in less water being returned to the atmosphere, resulting in reduced rainfall
• A large portion of the water circulating in a rain forest ecosystem remains in the trees/plants. When trees are felled, the air becomes drier
• Trees reduce water runoff and promote infiltration of water into the soil. If trees are removed, water will run off rather than filter into the ground. The water table and aquifers are not replenished and become depleted
• An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock that stores or transfers ground water to supply wells, boreholes and springs with water