From Carbon Sink to Carbon Bomb


The world's forests have traditionally been seen as an invaluable carbon sink. Those vast swathes of trees would suck CO2 out of the atmosphere, exchanging it for oxygen. Together with the oceans these forests kept our atmosphere clean even for those seemingly bent on generating carbon emissions.

We're finally coming to accept, grudgingly to be sure, that man made emissions have created a potentially existential climate rupture.  We have created the conditions now attacking our forests - heatwaves, drought and spreading infestations of parasites such as the pine beetle. When they've done their work their parting gift - wildfires of ever expanding frequency, intensity and duration. 

Of all the forests worldwide, the crown jewel was always the Amazon rainforest. It was not only a huge carbon sink and the generator of enormous volumes of atmospheric oxygen it even regulated precipitation in Brazil and elsewhere.

With the malevolent assistance of Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, the Amazon has flipped. It's no longer the great carbon sink. It is now a carbon bomb.

Most of the emissions are caused by fires, many deliberately set to clear land for beef and soy production. But even without fires, hotter temperatures and droughts mean the south-eastern Amazon has become a source of CO2, rather than a sink.

Growing trees and plants have taken up about a quarter of all fossil fuel emissions since 1960, with the Amazon playing a major role as the largest tropical forest. Losing the Amazon’s power to capture CO2 is a stark warning that slashing emissions from fossil fuels is more urgent than ever, scientists said.

Luciana Gatti, at the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil and who led the research, said: “The first very bad news is that forest burning produces around three times more CO2 than the forest absorbs. The second bad news is that the places where deforestation is 30% or more show carbon emissions 10 times higher than where deforestation is lower than 20%.”

Fewer trees meant less rain and higher temperatures, making the dry season even worse for the remaining forest, she said: “We have a very negative loop that makes the forest more susceptible to uncontrolled fires.”

The Amazon is at a tipping point. Without drastic change, 40 per cent of this once majestic rainforest could be transformed into a savannah ecosystem. That's a formula for chaos across South America's major economy, Brazil.

Here, in British Columbia, wildfires are racing through our forests. CBC this morning said there are 300 wilfires burning in B.C. Within a day or two of the town of Lytton being razed to the ground there were about 48. Now 300. Amazing. 


Comments

  1. Northern PoVJuly 15, 2021 at 7:18 AM

    "40 per cent of this once majestic rainforest could be transformed into a savannah ecosystem. That's a formula for chaos across"
    the planet.

    ReplyDelete

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