Overlogging

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The excessive removal of trees from a forest, leading to habitat destruction and biodiversity loss
2. The practice of logging more timber than is sustainable, causing environmental degradation and depletion of resources
3. A state resulting from the over-extraction of forest resources, impacting ecosystems and rural communities adversely

Etymology: "Overlogging" is a plain compound: the prefix "over-", meaning excessive or beyond what is proper, attached to "logging," the felling and hauling of timber. Put together, it names the cutting of trees beyond what a forest can sustain. The prefix "over-" is ancient in English, appearing in Old English as a native element, so the new formation simply applies a long-standing pattern to a more modern activity. The base "logging" is itself a useful clue to the older sense of the word. "Log" referred to a length of felled tree trunk long before it became a verb for cutting timber, and the practice of harvesting such logs gave rise to the modern noun and verb. The compound therefore describes an excess of a very concrete activity: too many logs taken from too much ground, with the damage to habitat and biodiversity following from that excess.

Synonyms: excessive logging, overharvesting