IN or OVER the past decade?
I saw these two above sentences
(1)Two thirds of the region has been deforested IN THE PAST DECADE.
(2)The effects of climate change have been increasingly apparent OVER THE LAST DECADE.
I'm wondering whether "in the past decade" and "over the last decade" have the same meaning. In other words, are they interchangeable?

(*) Please tell me if there is any mistake or something that I can do to improve my question as well.

Question

IN or OVER the past decade?
I saw these two above sentences
(1)Two thirds of the region has been deforested IN THE PAST DECADE.
(2)The effects of climate change have been increasingly apparent OVER THE LAST DECADE.
I'm wondering whether "in the past decade" and "over the last decade" have the same meaning. In other words, are they interchangeable?

(*) Please tell me if there is any mistake or something that I can do to improve my question as well.

Answer

in the past decade : means that a certain event happened in a certain time in the decade
over the past decade : means that a certain event was happening gradually throughout the decade