Tree planting: the 'greenhouse' effects.Tree planting: The 'greenhouse' effects Increasing global reforestation Reforestation The reestablishment of forest cover either naturally or artificially. Given enough time, natural regeneration will usually occur in areas where temperatures and rainfall are adequate and when grazing and wildfires are not too frequent. between now and the year 2000 by an area nearly twice the size of Texas could not only return the world's supply of wood for fuel and industry to a sustainable level, but also help stabilize watersheds and highly erodable, wind-prone areas, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Sandra Postel Sandra Postel is the director and founder of the Global Water Policy Project. She is a world expert on fresh water issues and related ecosystems. From 1988 to 1994 she served as the Vice President for Research at the Worldwatch Institute. and Lori Heise of the Washington, D.C.-based Worldwatch Institute The Worldwatch Institute is a globally-focused environmental research organization. Based in Washington, D.C., the institute was founded in 1974 by Lester Brown. Christopher Flavin is the current president. . A less obvious benefit would be the capture and storage of considerable carbon, which could reduce the rate of global warming. Carbon emitted by fossil-fuel burning and deforestation--largely as carbon dioxide carbon dioxide, chemical compound, CO2, a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that is about one and one-half times as dense as air under ordinary conditions of temperature and pressure. (CO.sub.2)--has been accumulating in earth's atmosphere. A "greenhouse" gas, atmospheric carbon dioxide can contribute to climate warming. But in "Reforesting the Earth," a report published last week, Postel and Heise present "rough calculations" that suggest that preserving tropical forests and planting new trees could play "a significant role" in slowing the CO.sub.2 buildup. During photosynthesis, trees absorb carbon. Cutting trees down begins a cycle that will lead to the release of that carbon. Adding 120 million hectares of forest cover would store about 780 million tons of carbon annually, the Worldwatch analysts estimate. Halving deforestation deforestation Process of clearing forests. Rates of deforestation are particularly high in the tropics, where the poor quality of the soil has led to the practice of routine clear-cutting to make new soil available for agricultural use. in Brazil, Indonesia, Colombia and Cote d'Ivoire -- the leading contributors of deforestation-related carbon dioxide -- would cut net annual carbon releases from tropical forests more than 20 percent. Postel and Heise calculate that these measures, taken together, could remove two-thirds of the annual carbon emissions attributable to deforestation, or 17 percent of the carbon emissions from all sources, including fossil fuels. Such measures could buy the world time to wean wean (wen) to discontinue breast feeding and substitute other feeding habits. wean v. 1. To deprive permanently of breast milk and begin to nourish with other food. 2. itself from an addiction to fossil fuels. And that's important, Postel and Heise believe, arguing that "Boosting energy efficiency and shifting to alternative energy sources will buy the greatest degree of climate insurance for the dollar." |
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