African tropical mountain forests & carbon storage

An update on forests of Africa, and role they play in the natural cycle

 African tropical mountain forests & carbon storage

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• The story: Research has found that tropical mountain forests in Africa store more carbon in their above-ground biomass than all other tropical forests. The new study in journal Nature found that tropical mountain forests in Africa store 149.4 megagrams of carbon per hectare — two-thirds more carbon than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates of average 89.3 megagrams of carbon per hectare. (One megagram equals one tonne)
• Clear lesson: The study obviously makes clear the ecological damage that further clearing of mountain forests would cause. It analysed the storage capacity in numbers for the first time.

1. Researchers examined carbon storage in the above-ground biomass of mountain forests on 226 selected plots spread over 44 mountain sites in 12 African countries — from Guinea in the west to Ethiopia in the east to Mozambique in the south.
2. African forests, particularly in the Congo basin, show widespread low sensitivity of above-ground live biomass to climate.
3. The results were surprising because the climate in mountains would be expected to lead to low carbon forests. The lower temperatures of mountains and the long periods they are covered by clouds should slow tree growth, while strong winds and steep unstable slopes might limit how big trees can get before they fall over and die.

• How much was lost: The researchers investigated tropical mountain forests lost from the African continent in the past 20 years. They found over 0.8 million hectares were lost in Africa since 2001, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo amounting for the highest loss (5,36,000 ha), followed by Uganda (65,000 ha) and Ethiopia (62,000 ha).

1. Mozambique and Ivory Coast lost over 20 per cent of their mountain forests over this period. These forests are under threat from logging, mining and land clearance for farming.
2. If deforestation continues Africa at the current rate, a further 0.5 million hectares of these forests would be lost by 2030!
3. African tropical mountain forests are not only rich in carbon, but also offer habitat for many rare and endangered species and regulate local temperatures.
4. Beyond protected areas, other forest conservation mechanisms could be implemented, including effective carbon finance.

• Bonn Challenge: Most African countries have committed large amounts of land to forest restoration under the Bonn Challenge. Forest restoration is important to mitigate climate change.

1. The Bonn Challenge is a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of degraded and deforested land into restoration by 2020 and 350 million by 2030.
2. The 2020 target was launched at a high level event in Bonn in 2011 organised by the Government of Germany and IUCN, and was later endorsed and extended to 2030 by the New York Declaration on Forests of the 2014 UN Climate Summit. To date, 74 governments, private associations and companies have pledged over 210 million hectares to the Challenge.
3. India joined the Bonn Challenge in 2015 with a pledge to restore 21 mha of degraded and deforested land. This was raised to target of 26 mha by 2030 during the United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification Conference held in Delhi.

• Forests and carbon: Forests can act as either carbon sources or carbon sinks. A forest is considered to be a carbon source if it releases more carbon than it absorbs. Forest carbon is released when trees burn or when they decay after dying (as a result of old age or of fire, insect attack or other disturbance). Forests and the rest of Earth's land-based ecosystems take up about 30 percent of human carbon emissions, so any big change in that process is important.

1. So, forests influence climate change by affecting the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. When forests grow, carbon is removed from the atmosphere and absorbed in wood, leaves and soil.
2. This carbon remains stored in the forest ecosystem, but can be released into the atmosphere when forests are burned.

• EXAM QUESTIONS: (1) Explain how the Bonn Challenge focused the planet's attention towards the urgent necessity of getting forests up and running, once again. (2) What role do forests play in the overall natural balance of planet Earth? Can rapid afforestation efforts help mankind recover from the ravages of past century? Explain. (3) The African continent has been used by colonial powers for centuries, and neoliberal ones in recent decades, for resource extraction. In what ways can the nations reclaim their natural heritage? Explain.
  

#Africa #Forests #ClimateChange #IPCC #GlobalWarming #Carbon

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