the total carbon content of forest ecosystem is estimated to about gtonnes of carbon which is more than the amount of carbon in the atmosphere deforestation and forest degradation result in substantial reductions in forest carbon stocks and increase in emissions the intergovernmental panel on climate change has estimated emissions from deforestation since s at gtc yr taking amazonas as an example during the period of deforestation was due to establishment of new cattle ranches was caused by small scale subsistence agriculture legal and illegal logging accounted for as fires mining road construction and dams and large scale agriculture accounted for