In rubber and coffee plantations, the cause of deforestation was not only removing trees but what else?

Correct answer: Creating a permanent commercial plantation system

Answer: A, creating a permanent commercial plantation system. Deforestation does not mean only cutting individual trees. It can also mean changing the entire use of land. For rubber and coffee plantations, forest areas were cleared, prepared and planted with crops intended for regular commercial production. This replaced a diverse natural habitat with an organised, long-term plantation system serving markets and colonial economic interests. B is wrong because giving rights to forest communities would not itself describe the plantation cause. C is the opposite of what happened when natural forests were converted. D is unrelated: railway sleepers concern railway construction, not the central reason for establishing rubber or coffee plantations. Memory cue: plantation deforestation means clear the forest, change the land use and grow a market crop.