Carbon EQ3 Flashcards
What were the impacts of deforestation in Madagascar?
Water- infiltration decreased, flood peaks increased, shorter lag time, increased discharge
Soil- increased leaching, loss of nutrients, 400 tonnes per hectare lost a year
Atmos- reduced evapotranspiration less humid reduced O2 content
What has happened to forest cover in the world?
Burner lost 50% of forest cover since 1950s
Europe seen slight increase in
Cleared for agriculture
What has happened to grassland conversion in USA?
6mill hectares lost 2007-2015
Benefits of grasslands- absorbs toxins, carbon sinks, maintain healthy soils
Disadvantages of loss- release CO2 ploughing causes more CO2 release, biofuels need water= stress on aquifers
What is ocean acidification?
Process where ocean pH decreases= more acidic
Oceans absorbed more carbon then released- 30% since 1750s
Impacts- lowered pH by 0.1 since 1750s, corals can’t absorb carbon
Impact of climate change on weather and climate zones?
Climate zones shifting- distinct weather boundaries moving
Grater rates of evapotranspiration
Afraid regions growing
Increased rainfall intensity
Change in storm patterns
Increased chance of forest fires
What is a tipping point?
Critical thresholds where changes accelerate without reversal
What implications does forest loss have on human wellbeing?
Displacement
Pollution of resources
Loss of raw materials, cultural heritage + small scale farming
Increase in drought + severity
What is the Kuznetsk curve?
Shows as income increases so does degradation to a certain point in development where it starts to improve as they aren’t focused on primary and secondary industries
What are the impacts of climate change and temp increase in Yukon?
Increase flooding
Degradation of river ecosystems
Earlier spring melt
Melting of permafrost
Altering of river regimes- earlier peak flows
Streamflow decreasing
Greater proportion of rain then snow
What threats does ocean health pose to human wellbeing?
They act as carbon sinks
520mill depend on for food and income
Need for: leisure/toursim, medicines, energy, source of rare materials, food and biodiversity
What are natural factors that affect emissions?
Oceans+ forests: store heat+ carbon, will affect it for 100s of years
Thermohaline circulation- melting ice= larger lower density fresh water- affects climate patterns
Forest die back- less recycled moisture
What are human factors that affect emissions?
Economic growth- emission levels reached record levels
Energy sources- consumption grew, renewables made up for 2/3s of growth
Population changes- emerging economies= more consumers
How do feedback mechanisms affect emissions?
Peatland- most of worlds wetlands, warming causes them to dry, 4degrees warming = 40% increase in loss of carbon
Permafrost- when melts releases trapped carbon
What are some mitigation strategies to rebalance the carbon cycle?
Carbon capture
Renewable switching
Water conservation and management
Afforestation
Carbon taxation
What are some adaption strategies to rebalance carbon cycle?
Land use planning
Solar radiation management
Flood risk management
Resilient agricultural systems
Water conservation
