CARBON STORES & TROPICAL RAINFORESTS

amazon river basin —>

  • clearing of forrests for the replacement of thinigs like plantations [ie palm plantations] creates for a loss of biodiversity and due to rainforests consisting of numerous layers —> the biodiversity present within different layers of rainforests are in essence cleared also.

  • peat = soil that consists of semi decomposed organic matter

  • [peatlands are in tact as they provide people the ability to perform operations such as fishing]

Grasslands

  • store between 100-300 meric tonnes of carbon per hectare

  • temepature grasslands in Canada store between 50-200 tonnes of organic carbon per hectare in soils and an additional 3-12 tonnes of carbon per hectare in plant biomass and litter

    • some estimtes suggest that grasslands have between 15-30% of the worlds carbon tied up in their soil [as of 18th June 2020]

  • 7.7% of land within grasslands are overgrazed

  • 2 billion tonnes of carbon within Englands grasslands

  • an estimated 0.4% increase in soil carbon worldwide

  • AMAZON RAINFOREST: abondended agricultural areas of land within rainforets have been used to recover biodiversity lost from clearing w/ a recorded recovery of carbon storage at 1.3 gigatons per year

  • The great green wall inititaive in Burkino Fasos sahel region that aims to restore 100 million hectares of land by 2030

soy bean production esetimated to reach 125 million tonnes by 2028

PEATLANDS

Peat  = brown deposit resembling soil formed from partial decomposition of vegetable matter in the wet acidic conditions of bogs and fems and often cut out and dried as fuel and in gardening




Spec: 

  • Peat formation 

  • extraction  + drainage 

  • Restoration through management of peatlands


Formation

  • Forms over thousands of years → lack of 02 prevents dead plants from decaying 

    • As result → over prolonged period of time: dead plant material accumulates in layers to form peat 



Function: 

  • Regulate climate

    • If carbon in peatlands were released → would x2 CO2 levels in the atmosphere + result in global temp. rises  of between 2 + 3 degrees C

    • Peatlands store 20% of all liquid fresh water resources in world + can provide buffer against floods + droughts

      • Sponge like qualities allow for the peat to soak up water @ times of heavy rainfall and then release slowly into rivers + streams during drier periods 


  • Biodiverse → over 3k species of insect found within peat




Threats to Peatlands:

  • overgrazing 

  • Some peatlands are drained prior to extraction of peat

    • EG] Indonesian gvt drained 14.5km squared of peatland in Kalimantan as part of Mega Rice Project in 1995-98

  • large areas of peat  = extraction for power generation → 60% of extracted peat goes to combined heat + power plants




Restoration of Carbon store through Management of Peatlands:


  • Regulation: 

    • Just under 2.5km squared of England's peatlands = located within sites of special scientific interests

      • There are Ramsar sites of which aim to manage + educate