Study finds forests in Africa releasing more carbon than they store

A new study has found that Africas forests usually vital for the fight against climate change could be emitting more carbon than they absorb highlighting the urgent need for stronger global forest protection effortsAnalysing satellite data researchers from the UK Europe and Africa found that the continent gained carbon from 2007 to 2010However between 2010 and 2017 Africas forests lost approximately 106 billion kilograms of forest biomass per year equivalent to the weight of about 106 million cars they saidTropical forests are considered carbon sinks because they absorb more carbon dioxide from the air than they releaseBut evidence from studies is increasingly suggesting that deforestation and disruptions such as wildfires runs the risk of turning many of the worlds forests into a carbon source from carbon sinkThe study published in the journal Scientific Reports noted Africas forests and woody savannas have historically acted as a carbon sink removing atmospheric carbon and storing it as biomassHowever our novel analysis reveals a critical transition from a carbon sink to a carbon source between 2010 and 2017 the authors wroteThe analysis combines data gathered from the US and Japans space programmes and onground forest measurementsThe result is the most detailed map to date of biomass changes across the African continent covering a decade at a resolution fine enough to capture local deforestation patterns the researchers saidSenior author Heiko Balzter professor and director of the Institute for Environmental Futures at the UKs University of Leicester said This is a critical wakeup call for global climate policyIf Africas forests are no longer absorbing carbon it means other regions and the world as a whole will need to cut greenhouse gas emissions even more deeply to stay within the 2 degrees Celsius goal of the Paris Agreement and avoid catastrophic climate change Balzter saidClimate finance for the Tropical Forests Forever Facility launched at the recently concluded COP30 must be scaled up quickly to put an end to global deforestation for good the senior author saidAuthor Pedro RodriguezVeiga from the National Centre for Earth Observation at the universities of Leicester Sheffield and Edinburgh said the study shows deforestation isnt just a local or regional issue its changing the global carbon balanceIf Africas forests turn into a lasting carbon source global climate goals will become much harder to achieve Governments the private sector and NGOs must collaborate to fund and support initiatives that protect and enhance our forests RodriguezVeiga saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever