As the world continues to produce carbon dioxide and global warming heats the planet, tropical forests lose the ability to absorb the deadly gases. A recent study found that the ability of tropical forests to absorb carbon dioxide has declined over the past two decades.
Managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)researchers have studied carbon sinks and sources in forests and vegetation. Areas that absorb more carbon than emit are known as carbon sinks. Researchers are investigating whether and how plants function as a source or sink to the extent of a forest in a world in which emissions are rising and global warming is shaping the planet.
The study published in the journal Science Advance, notes that terrestrial carbon fluxes remain the greatest uncertainty in the global carbon cycle. Research found that during those two decades, living woody plants were responsible for more than 80 percent of the springs and depressions on land, while the remainder made up soil, foliage, and rotting organics.
The researchers also found that the total amount of carbon emitted and absorbed in the tropics was four times greater than in temperate regions and boreal areas combined. The decline in the ability of tropical forests to absorb carbon dioxide is mainly due to Deforestation, habitat degradation and the effects of climate change.
The red dot shows forest fires in the Amazon rainforest. (Photo: NASA)
The study showed that 90 percent of the carbon that forests take up from the atmosphere around the world is offset by the amount of carbon released by major disruptions from deforestation and drought. They used NASA’s Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) aboard ICESat and the agency’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites to map carbon sources and sinks from land use changes.
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Knowing where plants take up and emit carbon is important to monitor how forests and other overgrown regions are responding to climate change.
Fire in the Amazon rainforest as seen from space. (Photo: NASA)
“The Amazon was considered a significant carbon sink due to large pristine forests that absorb carbon dioxide. However, our results show that the Amazon Basin as a whole is becoming nearly neutral in terms of carbon footprint due to deforestation, degradation and the effects of warming, frequent droughts and fires, ”said Sassan Saatchi, the study’s lead researcher.
The satellite carbon maps in this study covered about 100 square kilometers each, but they couldn’t necessarily absorb changes that happen on a smaller scale. The researchers hope that a more systematic and consistent approach to tracking which parts of the world are serving as carbon sources or sinks will enable better monitoring across regions and countries.
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