"Widespread deforestation" refers to the widespread and extensive cutting down or removal of trees from forests or wooded areas. It means the forests are being destroyed or lost over a large area. Full definition
In Europe there was also the beginning of widespread deforestation as Bronze Age human communities started to use charcoal for smelting and extended agriculture to tilling and planting. (britannica.com)
This growth rate, more than double that of the previous decade, is largely a result of China's logging ban, a policy enacted after widespread deforestation in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River valley left the countryside vulnerable to severe floods in 1998. (earth-policy.org)
Take for example widespread deforestation which has exacerbated climate change. (news.mongabay.com)