Deforestation and climate change

Causes due to climate change agriculture, Colombia == Effects of deforestation on climate change ==

Irreversible deforestation would result in a permanent rise in the global surface temperature. Moreover, it suggests that standing tropical forests help cool the average global temperature by more than . Deforestation of tropical forests may risk triggering tipping points in the climate system and of forest ecosystem collapse which would also have effects on climate change. Several studies since the early 1990s have shown that large-scale deforestation north of 50°N leads to overall net global cooling while tropical deforestation produces substantial warming. Carbon-centric metrics are inadequate because biophysical mechanisms other than impacts are important, especially the much higher albedo of bare high-latitude ground vis-à-vis intact forest. Moreover, the type of land usage after deforestation also produces varied results. When deforested land is converted to pasture land for livestock grazing it has a greater effect on the ecosystem than forest to cropland conversions. Other effect of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest is seen through the greater amount of carbon dioxide emission. The Amazon rainforest absorbs one-fourth of the carbon dioxide emissions on Earth, however, the amount of absorbed today decreases by 30% than it was in the 1990s due to deforestation. Modeling studies have concluded that there are two crucial moments that can lead to devastating effects in the Amazon rainforest which are increase in temperature by and deforestation reaching a level of 40%. Forest fires Statistics have shown a direct correlation between forest fires and deforestation. Statistics regarding the Brazilian Amazon area during the early 2000s have shown that fires and the air pollution that accompanies these fires mirror the patterns of deforestation and "high deforestation rates led to frequent fires". The Amazon rainforest has experienced fires inside the forest as well as wildfires on its outer edges. According to a study in tropical peatland forest of Borneo, deforestation also contributes to the increase in fire risk. Carbon sequestration through forestry Concerns with forestry projects Changes in rainfall As a consequence of reduced evapotranspiration, precipitation is also reduced. This implies having a hotter and drier climate, and a longer dry season. This change in climate has drastic ecological and global impacts including increases in severity and frequency of fires, and disruption in the pollination process that will likely spread beyond the area of deforestation. By the year 2100, researchers anticipate that deforestation in the Congo will diminish regional precipitation levels by up to 8-10%. == Policies and programs to reduce deforestation ==

Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries The Bali Action Plan areaThe Bali Action Plan was developed in December 2007 in Bali, Indonesia. It is a direct result of the Kyoto Protocol of December 1997. One of the key elements of The Bali Action Plan involves a concerted effort by the member countries of the Kyoto Protocol to enact and create policy approaches that incentivize emissions reduction caused by deforestation and forest degradation in the developing world. It emphasized the importance of sustainable forest management and conservation practices in mitigating climate change. This coupled with the increased attention to carbon emission stocks as a way to provide additional resource flows to the developing countries. Its initial target was the planting of one billion trees in 2007. Only one year later in 2008, the campaign's objective was raised to 7 billion trees—a target to be met by the climate change conference that was held in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 2009. Three months before the conference, the 7 billion planted trees mark had been surpassed. In December 2011, after more than 12 billion trees had been planted, UNEP formally handed management of the program over to the not-for-profit Plant-for-the-Planet initiative, based in Munich, Germany. The Amazon Fund (Brazil) == See also ==