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Tropical forests may be heating Earth by 2035
(Eco Business, 9 Mar 2020) Climate change so far has meant more vigorous forest growth as greenhouse gases rise. The tropical forests may soon change that.
Within about fifteen years, the great tropical forests of Amazonia and Africa could stop absorbing atmospheric carbon, and slowly start to release more carbon than growing trees can fix.
A team of scientists from 100 research institutions has looked at the evidence from pristine tracts of tropical forest to find that – overall – the foliage soaked up the most carbon, most efficiently, more than two decades ago.
Since then, the measured efficiency of the forests as a “sink” in which carbon is sequestered from the atmosphere has been dwindling. By the last decade, the ability of a tropical forest to absorb carbon had dropped by a third.
All plant growth is a balancing act based on sunshine and atmospheric carbon and rainfall. Plants absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, and surrender it as they die.
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Eco Business, 9 Mar 2020: Tropical forests may be heating Earth by 2035
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