Environmental Impacts of Deforestation and Burning

Steps:

• Cutting down trees removes carbon-absorbing vegetation and exposes stored carbon.
• Burning the cleared trees releases that carbon as CO2, raising atmospheric levels.
• Habitat destruction from clearing reduces species populations and biodiversity.
• Loss of root systems destabilizes soil, increasing erosion risk.

Why D is correct:

• Deforestation releases stored carbon via burning (CO2 increase), eliminates habitats (species decrease), and removes root anchors (soil stability decrease), per ecological principles of carbon cycling and erosion dynamics.

Why the others are wrong:

• A: CO2 increases from burning, not decreases.
• B: Species number and variety decrease due to habitat loss, not increase.
• C: Soil stability decreases from root removal and exposure, not increases.

Final answer: D