Knowra Deforestation and climate change Deforestation and climate change Deforestation contributes to climate change by releasing carbon stored in trees and soils and by reducing forests’ capacity to absorb carbon dioxide. Climate change also alters forests through heat, drought, fire, and shifting ecological conditions.
Forest carbon cycle : The movement of carbon among forest vegetation, soils, dead organic matter, and the atmosphere. Clearing disrupts this cycle by moving stored forest carbon into the atmosphere.
Global warming potential : A measure comparing the heat-trapping effect of a greenhouse gas with that of carbon dioxide over a chosen time period. It helps compare carbon dioxide from forest loss with methane and nitrous oxide emissions.
REDD+ : A UN climate framework for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and supporting forest conservation and carbon stocks. It directs finance and monitoring toward lowering emissions from forest loss.
Forest degradation : A decline in a forest’s ecological condition or carbon storage without complete conversion to another land use. It can emit carbon while leaving tree cover, unlike outright deforestation.
Land-use change emissions : Greenhouse-gas emissions caused by converting or modifying land, including forest clearing and drainage. These emissions account for carbon released during deforestation and subsequent land use.
Tipping points in the Amazon rainforest : Proposed thresholds beyond which parts of the Amazon could shift toward drier, more open ecosystems. Deforestation and warming can jointly weaken rainfall recycling and increase forest dieback risk.
Afforestation : The establishment of forest on land that has not recently been forested. It can increase carbon uptake, but does not automatically replace the carbon or ecosystems lost through deforestation.
Forest dieback : Large-scale decline or mortality of trees caused by environmental stress, pests, disease, or their interactions. Climate change can cause dieback without deliberate land clearing, though both reduce forest carbon.
Carbon sink : A reservoir that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases over a given period. Intact forests act as carbon sinks; deforestation weakens that removal.
Biodiversity loss : A decline in the variety of genes, species, or ecosystems in a region or globally. Forest conversion harms species and can undermine ecosystem functions that support carbon storage.
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