Forests

Abstract

Earth's climate may be growing warmer in response to atmospheric accumulation of greenhouse gases, predominantly but not exclusively stemming from human-induced emissions of carbon dioxide (CO/sub 2/) into the atmosphere. Once in the atmosphere, CO/sub 2/ traps heat that would otherwise radiate into space. Each year the Earth's atmosphere takes up approximately 2.9 billion tons of the 4.8 to 5.8 billion tons of carbon that are emitted from various sources. The rest is removed from the atmosphere by natural processes in carbon sinks - places like oceans or forests where carbon is removed from the atmosphere and stored. In addition, changes in land use that have eliminated terrestrial biomass, including tropical forests, have released into the atmosphere the carbon that was captive in the vegetation. Humankind can respond to the prospective global climate change by adapting to the warming, attempting to limit the warming by preventing or mitigating the buildup of atmospheric carbon, or by some combination of the above. Forests can play a critical role in any attempt to mitigate the warming because they are able to capture and store large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere.