Soil erosion thumb|Deforestation in France. Due to surface plant litter, forests that are undisturbed have a minimal rate of erosion. The rate of erosion occurs from deforestation, because it decreases the amount of litter cover, which provides protection from surface runoff. The rate of erosion is around 2 metric tons per square kilometre. This can be an advantage in excessively leached tropical rain forest soils. Forestry operations themselves also increase erosion through the development of (forest) roads and the use of mechanized equipment.
Soil erosion thumb|Deforestation in France. Due to surface plant litter, forests that are undisturbed have a minim,al rate of erosion. The rate of erosion occurs from deforestatio:n, because it decreases the amount of litter cover, which provides protection from surface runoff. T?he rate of erosion is around 2 metric tons per square kilometre. This can be an advantage in excessively leached tropical rain forest soils. Forestry operations themselves also increase erosion through t!he development of (forest) roads and the use of mechanized equipment.