Final answer:
Deforestation, the mass removal of trees, causes habitat destruction and climate change, driven by agricultural expansion and demand for commodities.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process of removing trees from an area in large quantities is known as deforestation. It leads to habitat destruction and contributes significantly to climate change by reducing the capacity of forests to absorb carbon dioxide emissions.
Deforestation also contributes to the loss of biodiversity and increases soil erosion. The demand for land for agriculture, such as cattle ranching and industrial farming, and for commodities like timber and palm oil is driving the rapid removal of forests globally, especially in the tropics. The practice of slash-and-burn agriculture is a major cause of deforestation in tropical regions, affecting not just the local environment but adding to global climate change concerns by releasing significant amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.