Forest and climate change
Global warming and Climate change
Global warming and climate change refer to the
increase in average global temperatures due
to the increase in greenhouse effect by the
increase in the greenhouse gases.
Causes of climate change
1. Natural event : forest fires, volcanic eruptions,
methane release from thawing of permafrost on
the ocean floor and release of methane gas from
cattle, wet lands
2. Anthropogenic activities : fossil oil combustion,
industrial production of greenhouse gases,
agricultural water lodging activities such as paddy
cultivation artificial wet lands and deforestation.
Greenhouse effect
• Weather and climate of the earth is driven by
the sun’s energy.
• Solar radiation heats the earth surface, and in
turn earth radiates the energy back into space.
• Some gasses of the atmosphere traps some of
the outgoing energy and retains heat.
• This causes to an increase in the global
temperature and also causes subsequent
changes in the weather pattern.
Greenhouses gases
• CO2 -Carbon dioxide
• CH4-Methane
• N20-nitrous oxide
• HFC-hydro fluorocarbon
• CFC-chlorofluorocarbon
• CF4-Carbon tetra fluoride
Major sources of Greenhouse gases
ENERGY Forest fuel combustion ; Natural gas CO2, CH4, N2O, O3
leakage ; Industrial activities;
Biomass burning
FOREST Harvesting , Clearing . Burning CO2, CH4, N2O
AGRICULTURE Paddy fields , Animal husbandry CO2, CH4, N2O
(ruminants) , Fertilizer usage
WASTE Sanitary landfill Incineration CO2, CH4, N2O, O3,
MANAGEMNT Biomass decay CFCs
INDUSTRIES Metal smelting & processing ; Cement CO2, CH4, N2O,
production ; Petrochemical production; CFCs, SF6, CF4, C2F6
Miscellaneous
Impacts of global warming
• Sea level rise
• Melting down of ice
• Extreme events (flood & landslides,
Hurricanes and Tornadoes, droughts and
fires, heat waves)
• Effect on biodiversity
• Health effects
Key definitions
• Carbon pool: A reservoir of carbon. A
system which has the capacity to
accumulate or release carbon.
• Carbon stock: The absolute quantity of
carbon held within a pool at a specified
time. The units of measurement are
mass.
• Carbon flux: Transfer of carbon from
one carbon pool to another in units of
measurement of mass per unit area and
time (e.g., t C ha-1 yr-1)
• Carbon sink: Any process or
mechanism which removes a greenhouse
gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a
greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. A
given pool (reservoir) can be a sink for
atmospheric carbon if, during a given
time interval, more carbon is flowing
into it than is flowing out.
• Sequestration (uptake): The process of
increasing the carbon content of a
carbon pool other than the atmosphere.
(IPCC, 2000).
Roles of forestry in climate change
• Forests are important carbon pools which
continuously exchange CO2 with the
atmosphere.
• Organic matter contains carbon susceptible to
be oxidized and returned to the atmosphere in
the form of CO2. Carbon is found in several
pools in the forest:
Con’t
• the vegetation: living plant biomass consisting
of wood and non-wood materials.
• dead wood and litter: dead plant biomass,
made up of plant debris.
• soil organic matter, the humus. Humus
originates from litter decomposition.
• Wood products derived from harvested
timber are also significant carbon pools.
Process of CO2 emission
The oxidation of carbon found in organic matter
and the subsequent emissions of CO2 result
from the following processes:
• respiration of living biomass,
• decomposition of organic matter by other
living organisms (also called heterotrophic
respiration),
• combustion (fires)
Diagram of Carbon cycle in forest
Forestry activities to mitigate climate
change
Several actions can be taken in the forestry sector in
order to mitigate climate change.
• Plant trees to create carbon sinks
Planting new forests, rehabilitating degraded forests
and enriching existing forests
• Protect existing forests to reduce emissions from
deforestation
• The carbon reservoir in the forest biomass and soils
is very large, highlighting the importance of
conserving natural forests.
