Rain Forest and Carbon

A hectare of mature rain forest (already containing 200 tonnes of carbon as stock) can absorb an extra 6 tonnes of carbon a year, negating the belief that mature forests are at 'equilibrium' and lose their capacity as a sink at maturity.

Tropical forests act as a stock of a significant amount of carbon (containing over 430 Gt or million tonnes carbon globally), whilst capacity to act as a carbon sink can absorb over third of fossil fuel combustion and cement production each year .

Annual Carbon emissions due to deforestation in south-east Asia equal almost half the total annual carbon emitted from fossil fuel combustion

Most areas of Southern American rain forests act as sinks (although some areas are sources), with the total uptake of carbon = 0.5 Gt per year. However, CO2 is produced from the banks of the Amazon River, from the decomposition of litter, which may provide a reconciliation (and balance) of figures from the annual amount absorbed by the Amazon Basin as a whole.

Prevention of deforestation would not only reduce carbon emissions, as well as avoiding the huge emissions caused by clearance and safe-guarding the absorption capabilities of the tropical biosphere.

Managing the biosphere effectively could contribute to mitigating climate change in the short term, through afforestation and the prevention of deforestation.