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A decrease in tropical forest biomass stemming from changes in climate may lead to increased carbon emissions that could accelerate global warming, according to a new study co-authored by YSE postdoctoral associate Maria del Rosario Uribe and Paulo Brando, associate professor of ecosystem carbon capture.
The paper is published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Tropical ecosystems store over half of the world’s above-ground carbon in their biomass, which includes vines, trunks, and leaves. A decrease in biomass reduces the capacity of these ecosystems to capture and store carbon. The research team said the decrease likely stems from prolonged and intense dry periods in the forests from climate change.
“Wetter regions have much more biomass, or carbon, than drier regions. If wetter tropical areas shrink due to climate change, then you’re likely to lose the massive amount of carbon they store as well,” says Uribe, who led the study.
The research team used maps from satellites to study above-ground biomass in the tropics of South America, Africa, and Asia. To make predictions about the future, researchers leveraged historical data reaching back to 1950 to build empirical statistical and machine learning models. They found a strong relationship between above-ground biomass and spatial climate variability.
Due to the empirical relationship between above-ground biomass and climate, factors such as fire, drought, and interactions with the soil are implicit in the model, the researchers note.
The researchers found that if greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are higher, losses of stored carbon could nearly double by 2100.
Uribe says she is hoping this data will strengthen the case for current climate policy initiatives, such as the…
2023-02-07 17:27:03 Loss of tropical biomass due to climate change could lead to increased carbon emissions
Source from phys.org
Tropical forests are essential for maintaining global sustainability. They are the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth and hold nearly 25 percent of all carbon in living entities. Unfortunately, their loss of biomass due to climate change could lead to increased carbon emissions, severely exacerbating the current climate crisis.
Climate change is increasing temperatures, causing more frequent and intense floods, droughts, and hurricanes, creating an increasingly difficult environment for tropical forests to thrive in. The longer-term warmer temperatures also threaten the forests’ ability to disperse and replaces its species in the face of changing conditions. This is leading to an unprecedented loss of tropical biomass, and therefore, carbon.
Recent studies indicate that increased loss of tropical biomass due to human-induced climate change is already leading to a surge of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Dying trees and plants decompose, releasing the organic carbon they contain into the atmosphere. The fear is that, as temperatures continue to rise, the biomass loss could spiral out of control, resulting in an explosive release of carbon and further pushing global temperatures higher.
Ultimately, conservationists are warning of a desperate need for climate action, including optimizing benefits from tropical forests and promoting their sustainable use. Reduced deforestation, reforestation, and increased energy efficiency are all strategies that can help to contain the damage, and governments must collaborate quickly to formulate an effective response to this urgent situation.
We are at a crossroads: decisive, global action can reduce the long-term damage of biomass loss, or we can allow the situation to spiral out of control. The choice we make now will have irreversible consequences for our planet and its inhabitants.