Smart Carbon Storage Saves Species
A few decades ago , most of us would never have guessed that “ carbon storage ” and “ sequestration ” would become household words , or that carbon emissions , deforestation and the extinction of our most beloved species would be linked in inextricable ways .
Carbon is stored in living and dead biomass and soil . Soil wins out , storing almost twice as much carbon as the atmosphere , plant life and animal life combined . Of the 3,860 gigatons 1 of carbon stored on Earth , wetlands , tropical forests and tropical savannas store almost one-quarter . On the flip side , 10 % of global carbon emissions are caused by tropical deforestation .
Carbon is sequestered , or pulled from the air , by most healthy ecosystems . Collectively , the world ’ s forests absorb a net 7.6 billion metric tonnes of CO 2 per year , and tropical forests sequester more carbon per year than temperate or boreal forests . Coastal ecosystems like mangroves are especially important for climate mitigation because they have very high carbon sequestration rates — 2.5 metric tons of CO 2 per acre per year , on average , for mangroves — and also because they are waterlogged . Water prevents organic matter from fully decaying and releasing the carbon back into the air , making these systems highly effective for both sequestration and long-term carbon storage .
Carbon sequestration and storage are key to solving the climate crisis . When deforestation occurs , an average of 245 metric tons of CO 2 per acre is immediately emitted . Fires , deforestation , and forest degradation emit carbon at different rates , but it all adds up to species extinction and climate disruption .
1
6 1 gigaton is equal to 1 billion metric tons
Rainforest Trust uses the world ’ s best scientific methods to identify the most critical habitats for conservation . Carbon is not the only thing we consider when protecting landscapes , of course , but it is becoming increasingly important to our decisionmaking process as climate change accelerates and disrupts the habitats and habits of millions of species .
True to our mission , at least one-third of Rainforest Trust projects target high-density carbon landscapes that are important in fighting climate change — like peat swamps , coastal mangrove forests , and highelevation páramo — and protect abundant biodiversity at the same time . We focus on opportunities that multiply our impact for climate , species and human communities .
Protected areas created with Rainforest Trust are storing 5.7 billion metric tons of CO 2 equivalents — an amount a bit more than the entire net annual CO 2 production of the United States .
BACKGROUND : MANGROVE FOREST ROOTS BY NATTAPON PONBUMRUNGWONG / SHUTTERSTOCK