Forests declining, but tree cover on agricultural land increasing globally

The Times of India , Friday, August 05, 2016
Correspondent : Subodh Varma
NEW DELHI: Although deforestation continues unabated in tropical forests, a new study has revealed some unexpected good news: tree cover on agricultural land is increasing across the globe, capturing nearly 0.75 Gigatonnes (billion tonnes) carbon dioxide every year.

"Remote sensing data show that in 2010, 43% of all agricultural land globally had at least 10% tree cover, up from eight percent in the preceding decade," said Robert Zomer of the World Agroforestry Centre, lead author of the study. "Given the vast amount of land under agriculture, agroforestry may already significantly contribute to global carbon budgets."

This tree cover on agricultural land will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land-use change which was estimated by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) at about 24% of the world's emissions. However, trees on agricultural lands are not considered in the greenhouse gas accounting framework of the IPCC.

Trees on agricultural lands - also known as agroforestry systems - have the potential to contribute to reduce the impact of climate change while improving livelihoods and incomes and providing invaluable ecosystem services at the same time. The World Bank estimates that globally 1.2 billion people depend on agroforestry farming systems, especially in developing countries.

A team of researchers from various institutions in Africa, Asia and Europe carried out a study to assess the role of trees on agricultural land and the amount of carbon they have sequestered from the atmosphere over the past decade.

The new study shows that the distribution of tree cover on agricultural land depends on climatic conditions in different parts of the world. High tree cover is found in humid areas such as South East Asia, Central America, eastern South America, as well as central and coastal West Africa. Tree cover on agricultural land was moderate in south Asia, sub-humid Africa, central and western Europe, the Amazonia and mid-west North America. On the other hand, low tree cover was found in east China, northwest India, west Asia, the southern border of the Sahara Desert, the prairies of North America and southwest Australia.

Remarkable differences are noted in changing biomass carbon stocks over time among countries. Brazil, Indonesia, China and India had the largest increases, while Argentina, Myanmar, and Sierra Leone had the largest decreases in biomass carbon stored on agricultural land.

"Study results show that existing tree cover makes a major contribution to carbon pools on agricultural land, demonstrating the potential to add to climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts," said Jianchu Xu of the World Agroforestry Centre. "If tree cover is accounted for, the total carbon stock is over four times higher than when estimated using IPCC tier 1 estimates alone."

Given the large amount of agricultural land where tree cover is below its potential, the study suggests that a huge mitigation potential exists and should be explored more systematically.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/the-good-earth/Forests-declining-but-tree-cover-on-agricultural-land-increasing-globally/articleshow/53538732.cms
 


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