Answer:
Conversion of forest to cropland or pasture decreases the rate at which carbon is taken up by plants.
Cut trees are often burned, and this releases carbon into the atmosphere.
Explanation:
First of all, <u>deforestation is the conversion of forests to non-forest uses. Non-forest uses include agriculture, industrial development, infrastructural development, etc. </u>
Forests are sinks for carbon and their removal or conversion to non-forest uses means that less carbon would be fixed through photosynthesis. Slash and burn agricultural practice also leads to the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Thus, more carbon dioxide would be present in the atmosphere as a result of deforestation and burning. This carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that causes the warming of the planet, a phenomenon that results in the change of climate of the planet.
<em>Hence, the conversion of forest to cropland leading to a decrease in the rate of carbon fixation and the emission associated with burning both contribute immensely to global climate change.</em>
