March 14: Natural Climate Solutions Flashcards
What is a natural climate solution?
Using nature to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere, stabilize our climate, increase carbon storage, all with natural solutions. Natural climate solution can provide 37% of cost-effective CO2 mitigation needed through 2030 for a more than 66% chance of holding warming to below 2 degrees Celsius. Natural climate solutions can aslo offer water filtration, flood buffering, soil health, biodiversity habitat and enhanced climate resilience.
How to improve carbon storage in agricultural soils?
(1) reducing soil disturbance by switching to low-till or no-till practices or planting perennial crops;
(2) changing planting schedules or rotations, such as by planting cover crops or double crops instead of leaving fields fallow;
(3) managed grazing of livestock;
(4) applying compost or crop residues to fields.
In addition to providing local environmental and economic benefits, these practices can capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it in soils, making them a form of carbon removal.
What it biochar?
Charcoal-like substance that’s made by burning material from agricultural and forestry wates in a controlled process called pyrolysis.
Although it looks a lot like common charcoal, biochar is produced using a specific process to reduce contamination and safely store carbon. Its only co-benefit is increased soil quality.
What is a co-benefit and give examples of co-benefits to a natural carbon solution?
It’s another benefit that’s not the main one we are looking for, but it’s still very useful and important.
Most natural climate solutions have co-benefits like: water filtration, flood buffering, soil health, biodiversity habitat, enhanced climate resilience.
What are the 3 main types of pathways/options for natural climate solutions? (with examples)
Forests: reforestation, avoided forest conversion, natural forest, improve forest management
Agriculture and Grasslands: Biochar, trees in croplands, nutrient management, improved grazing pathways
Wetlands: Coastal restoration, peat restoration, avoided peat impacts, avoided coastal impacts
Why is the boreal forest not included as a natural climate solution?
Because of the low albedo. Boreal forest has needle-leaved trees, so when we look from above, we can’t see the snow. In the winter, even with snow, this type of forests just aborsbs the heat, so reforestation of boreal forest would not help and would not be considered as a natural climate solution, it would just make it more likely to absorb the heat.
In which forest would avoided forest conversion store the most CO2 per hectare?
Rain forests
According to Griscom and others, which pathways can be achieved for US$10 per tonne?
coastal wetland restoration and protection and avoided emissions from savanna fires.
We also apply constraints to safe- guard the production of food and fiber and habitat for biological diversity. We refer to these terrestrial conservation, restoration, and improved practices pathways, which include safeguards for food, fiber, and habitat, as “natural climate solutions” (NCS).
what is a wetland?
Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season. Wetlands are one of Earth’s more productive ecosystems, supporting an incredible amount of biodiversity, and considered a nature-based solution to climate change. Here in Canada, wetlands including marshes, swamps, fens and bogs make up 14% of our landmass.
What are some threats to wetlands?
Dredging, draining, and/or filling wetland areas for conversion to agricultural, industrial or residential lands.
Population growth and urban development.
Sand and gravel mining and mineral extraction activities.
What are co-benefits of wetlands?
Disturbance regulation
Water regulation
Water supply
Food production
genetic resources
raw material (building)
recreation
Cultural
Wate treatment
Habitat/refugia (biodiversity)
air quality improvement
water quality improvements.
What is the only natural way to get CO2 out of the atmosphere?
Plants accumulate organic matter when they perform photosynthesis.
This organic matter (which, of course, is carbon-based) gets added to soils as plant
grow roots and the aboveground parts die and get incorporated into soils.
Which pathway of natural climate solution constitute 50% of low cost pathways
Forests
Co-benefits of the forest pathway (reforestation, avoided forest conversion…)
Improved availability of water for crop irrigation
Avoided sedimentation and water regulation for hydroelectric dams
Maintains or restores soils biologival and physical properties needed for the health and productivity of forests
Abatement of ground-level ozone (trees filter air pollutants)
What differentiate salt marsh from other wetlands?
Salt marsh is a type of wetland flooded by salty estuarine water. It doesn’t release methane, but the fresh water wetlands do.
