From ‘Carbon Sink’ tropical forests become ‘Carbon source’; deforestation to be blamed

Washington, January 24: Tropical forests have always been considered as a ‘carbon sink’ but not anymore. And like always humans are to be blamed because of the excess emission of carbon in the atmosphere. The fast growth rate, dense vegetation, and rich soils sucked more carbon out of the atmosphere then they produced. In other words, tropical forests were a natural greenhouse-gas vacuum. Except now, just when the world most needs them to be, they’re not.

 

According to a new study in a journal, it turns out that due to deforestation, drought, and other forest-disturbing factors leaned the scales, making tropical forests a net producer of carbon rather than a sink. Each year, instead of absorbing carbon, these degraded forests are a source of more carbon than an entire year’s worth of US transportation emissions.

However the people re only left with one option of ending tropical deforestation, the researchers found that there should be reduction in annual emissions by a minimum per cent of carbon, or about 8% of annual global emissions. Eliminating deforestation may be an improbable goal, but the numbers suggest even incremental changes in forestation policy could make a significant difference.

Some countries are now investing heavily in the future of geo-engineering large-scale technological solutions to suck carbon out of the atmosphere. This method will enhance planting trees and to stop the nature from degrading itself, it has become important to plant trees instead of deforesting the area.