Читать книгу Climate Change For Dummies - Elizabeth May - Страница 45

You may not have realized back in elementary school that when you were reading about photosynthesis, you were actually getting the basics of modern climate science. (Photosynthesis occurs when plants take in energy from the sun and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turn it into oxygen and sugars.) Figure 2-4 may jog your memory.

Trees are the planet’s biggest and most widespread plants, and the forests are wonderful carbon sinks.

© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

FIGURE 2-4: The process of photosynthesis.

The most effective carbon-trapping forests are tropical, such as those in Brazil and other South American countries. Most tropical forests are called rainforests (although not all rainforests are tropical). Rainforests grow in regions that get more than 70.9 inches of rain each year. Because of all the rain they get, these dense, rich forests are full of biodiversity. And because of the tropical climate, which is always warm, these tropical forests work year-round. The tireless work that these trees do to sequester carbon is just one of the reasons to protect the tropical rainforests.

Mangrove forests are another little appreciated forest ecosystem. They’re also tropical, but they’re rooted in water. Research shows they may actually be four times more effective in sucking up carbon than tropical forests on land. But they’re at risk. About a third of the world’s mangroves have been removed — mostly for tourism developments to create beaches and for farming shrimp in toxic shrimp ponds. Planting mangroves helps nature, creates homes for fish, protects coastal communities from big storms, and fights climate change. And unlike the forests on land, they can’t burn up because they live in water.

Forests in Canada, the United States, and Russia aren’t as effective at soaking up carbon because they take a rest in the winter but are still very important in the planet’s carbon balance. The northern forests make up for the reality of their seasonal work, through the relatively richer and deeper soils. Northern forests store more carbon in carbon reservoirs, even though tropical forests take up more carbon on an annual basis.