Why would deforestation lead to an increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and global warming? Plants use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and release oxygen maintaining the atmospheric balance. Fewer trees mean that less carbon dioxide will get recycled in this manner. Carbon dioxide traps heat rays reflected by the Earth which increases in temperature on the Earth and leads to global warming. How does deforestation cause droughts and reduction in rainfall? When trees are cut down, the percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases which causes global warming. Moreover, plants absorb water from the soil and release it in the air through transpiration. It is this moisture in the air which eventually turns into clouds and returns to Earth as rainfall. Deforestation and increase in temperature on the Earth disturb the water cycle, which leads to a reduction in rainfall and droughts. What is desertification and how is it caused? Desertification is the p...