ISLAMABAD: Environmental and climate experts have said that forests play a critical role in regulating the Earth’s climate through carbon cycle.
They said that massive deforestation was the main cause of increase in chlorofluoro carbons (CFCs) as trees were the main source of absorbing these gases.
Mirza Sarwat Naz Beg, chairman department of Forestry Pir Mehar Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi told media that forests play a critical role in regulating the Earth’s climate through the carbon cycle.
He said that the green cover removes carbon from the atmosphere as trees are having a good store of carbon in leaves, woody tissue, roots and organic matter in soil.
Kashif Salik environmental expert working at Sustainable Policy Development Institute (SDPI) said that after seas, forests are the second largest storehouse of the carbon.
“The world’s forests absorb 2.4 billion tones of carbon dioxide each year, or about one-third of the carbon dioxide released through the burning of fossil fuels,” Salik said.
Deforestation is the second leading contributor of carbon emissions worldwide after the burning of fossil fuels,” Dr Mehmood Khalid Qamar, a senior environmental expert told media.
“Forests can cool the planet by absorbing the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide during photosynthesis”, he said.
Qamar further said that trees and vegetation can also cool the planet by evaporating water to the atmosphere and increasing cloudiness, a deck of white clouds reflects incoming solar radiation straight back out into space.
