Short-term Changes In The Carbon Cycle

Question 1

Deforestation effects (3)

Answer 1

Removes a natural carbon store, reduces soil carbon content, closes down photosynthesis

Question 2

What impact does arable farming have on carbon cycle?

Answer 2

Intensive use of artificial fertilizers and other chemicals can lead to soils becoming sterile with the loss of their organic content

Question 3

How much of CO2 emissions originates from agriculture sector?

Answer 3

1/4 of all human GHG emissions

Question 4

How much of soil already became degraded due to intensive farming and what are the consequences of this?

Answer 4

1/3 of soil is degraded releasing 78 GtC into the atmosphere (not being able to hold CO2)

Question 5

What is the consequence of the rising global demand for meat and diary products?

Answer 5

A rise in methane emissions

Question 6

How much of all anthropogenic emissions livestock accounts for?

Answer 6

Livestock accounts for 14.5% of all anthropogenic emissions

Question 7

How much of all anthropogenic CO2 emission deforestation account for ?

Answer 7

For up to 30%

Question 8

How much of the tree cover was lost in 2001-2008, and how much of the CO2 was released as a result?

Answer 8

361 Mha of tree cover was lost globally between 2001-2008, this released an estimated 98.7 GtC of CO2 emissions

Question 9

What is the long-term prediction for the world forest?

Answer 9

Loss of tropic rainforest will be compensated by the increase of the temperate forest on former natural grasslands

Question 10

What is nearly the second largest single source of man-made CO2 other than fossil fuel use?

Answer 10

Cement production (processing limestone into cement)

Question 11

How much of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions is produced by the cement industry?

Answer 11

5%, 50% of which originates from the chemical process itself, while 40% from burning fossil fuel to power the process

Question 12

What is the largest single contributor to atmospheric CO2 concentrations?

Answer 12

Fossil fuel burning

Question 13

Why fossil fuel burning has such a detrimental negative effect on the carbon cycle?

Answer 13

This takes the slow carbon cycle store that took millions of years to sequester and releases it into the fast carbon cycle in quantities far higher than natural cycles can process, resulting in an atmospheric build up of CO2.

Question 14

By how much global energy-related CO2 emissions rose in 2017-2018?

Answer 14

By 1.7%, to a historic high of 33.1 GtC

Question 15

How much of a net increase in emissions coal burning accounts for ?

Answer 15

Coal burning accounted for 10 GtC of CO2 emissions and 85% of the net increase in emissions