Deforestation and the link to Global Warming
carbon-info.org
It is estimated that each acre of tropical forest can store 180 tons of Carbon in the soil and the living plants and trees inhabiting the forest. As 50% of trees are made up of carbon, we are worldwide talking about a staggering 500 billion tons of carbon being tied up in tropical forest (rain forest and other forest).
Deforestation and global warming - what is the impact?
- Deforestation Links
Annual CO2 contribution from deforestation
Deforestation - 1.6 billion tons of CO2
Burning of fossil fuels - 6.0 billion tons of CO2
Though the contribution of deforestation - compared to fossil fuel burning - 'only' contributes 1.6 billion tons of CO2 per year, the destruction of the world's forests are significant and should not be overlooked in the fight against global warming.
Destruction of tropical forest therefore has a significant impact on the carbon cycle and global warming, as each tree we cut down causes CO2 to be relased into the atmosphere through natural processes. In addition, the tree is no longer able to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, which means that for each tree lost - we generate a double contribution to CO2 levels in the atmosphere and global warming.
