The Amazon Basin, in South America, is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. Forest cover in the “Arc of Deforestation” in the southern region of the basin is rapidly decreasing the amount of forest cover due to logging and conversion of forests to agricultural lands. Scientists estimate that this trend has reduced the forest coverage to only 20% of its original size. The loss of forested land would:

A. increase concentration of water vapor in the air due to increased transpiration

B. Increase the amount of total carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

C. increase the amount of biodiversity in the Amazon Basin

D. increase decomposition rates and bacterial growth.