deforestation
Deforestation is the large-scale removal of forests and conversion of forested land to agricultural, ranching, or urban use, resulting in the loss of roughly one-third of Earth's original forest cover. For plant scientists, it represents a critical area of study because forests harbor the majority of terrestrial plant biodiversity, and their destruction drives species extinction, disrupts plant-soil-microbiome relationships, and eliminates ecosystems that are central to understanding plant adaptation, ecology, and conservation.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-04-29
A review of illegal gold mining (galamsey) in Ghana finds widespread destruction of forests, rivers, and farmland, while highlighting phytoremediation—using plants to absorb heavy metals and toxins—as one of the most promising and affordable cleanup strategies for poisoned soils and waterways.
Galamsey has polluted five major rivers (Pra, Birim, Ankobra, Tano, and Offin), with chemical contamination and high turbidity dominating water bodies in Southern Ghana.
Northern Ghana faces severe soil degradation and heightened desertification risk from illegal mining activity.
Phytoremediation and sorption are the most widely tested remediation techniques in galamsey-polluted environments, offering low-cost, locally applicable solutions.