Topic 6 - EQ3 - Carbon

Question 1

Whys is the terrestrial biosphere important in the carbon cycle?

Answer 1

It sequesters about a quarter of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, slowing down global warming.

Question 2

What is land conversion in regards to deforestation?

Answer 2

Any change from natural ecosystems to an alternative use. Usually results in the degradation of soil and depletion of water and carbon stores.

Question 3

What is the main driver of deforestation on earth?

Answer 3

Increasing demand for commodity production. Half of global deforestation is for soy, palm oil, cattle ranching and paper production. However, also done for dams, reservoirs, infrastructure, opencast mining and urbanisation.

Question 4

Where is deforestation happening quickest?

Answer 4

Rainforests of Indonesia and Brazil. Lost half their area since the 1960s.

Question 5

What is the status of deforestation in Madagascar?

Answer 5

Growing international demand for tropical hardwood has became a big driver of deforestation, but also government promoted cash crop agriculture to help recover the national debt.

Question 6

What is the impact of deforestation on the carbon cycle?

Answer 6

It has a major impact on the size of the terrestrial carbon store as part of the global carbon cycle. Less carbon is sequestered. When wood is burnt as fuel, further carbon emissions.

Question 7

What is the impact of deforestation on the water cycle?

Answer 7

Forests absorb rainfall and increase groundwater storage. They can stop flooding. Forest loss can disrupt weather patterns and local climate even creating destructive flood and drought cycles.

Question 8

What is the impact of deforestation on soil health?

Answer 8

Less trees = less protection for soil from wind and precipitation = much higher rates of soil erosion

Question 9

What is afforestation?

Answer 9

Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no previous tree cover.

Question 10

Where has there been a net gain of trees in the past 30 years?

Answer 10

Parts of North America and Asia.

Question 11

Why have some recent afforestation efforts been controversial?

Answer 11

Lots of this ‘afforestation’ has been the planting of one type of tree for commercial purposes (e.g. for timber logging). This creates a monoculture of trees which often store less carbon, use more water and are disease prone. Worst when these trees are non-indigenous species.

China has been the main culprit when it comes to afforestation for commercial purposes.

Question 12

What is grassland conversion?

Answer 12

The conversion of natural grassland ecosystems to farmland.

Question 13

Where has seen widespread grassland conversion?

Answer 13

The American prairies, the Eurasian steppe, Africa’s Serengeti

Question 14

Why are grasslands being converted?

Answer 14

-Many temperate grasslands have fertile chernozem soils, rich in carbon, prized for agriculture (Eurasian steppe, e.g. Ukraine is subsequently a huge wheat producer)
-To grow biofuels and food, crops such as corn, soya, rapeseed and sugar cane (American prairies saw biofuel rush push by US gov’t to boost rural economy, reduce US dependence on overseas oil and reduce CO2 emissions)

Question 15

How has land conversion disrupted natural cycles in affected grassland ecosystems?

Answer 15

It has disrupted the water and carbon cycles of grasslands like the African savannahs. This is because water resources have been used too intensively by animals concentrated in one place, and the ploughing of the land reduces infiltration and ploughing releases carbon into the atmosphere and depletes the micro-organisms which enrich the soil. Grasslands are not ready for such rapid changes, historically grasslands have been home to nomadic tribes, Turkic tribes in the Steppe and Native American tribes in the Prairies, and so a rise in population, switch to sedentary farming, poor management and climate change are all stressing the ecosystem.

Over long term is causing ecosystem degradation and the degradation of the natural carbon and water cycle.

Question 16

What percentage of atmospheric CO2 do oceans absorb?

Answer 16

Approx 30%

Question 17

What is ocean acidification?

Answer 17

The increase of the pH of the world’s oceans as a result of the ocean absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere, CO2 which is then broken down to from carbonic acid and hydrogen ions. The free hydrogen ions bond with available carbonate ions to form bicarbonate, reducing the concentration of alkaline carbonate ions.

So more CO2 = more hydrogen ions = more bicarbonate = less alkaline carbonate ions = lower pH

Question 18

What is the cause of coral bleaching?

Answer 18

Corals have a symbiotic relationship with microscopic algae called zooxanthellae that live in the tissues of coral. These algae are the coral’s primary food source and give coloured coral their colour.

However, this symbiotic relationship can be stressed by…
-Increased ocean temperature
-Pollution of water
-Exposure to sunlight
-Exposure to air at extreme low tides

Such stressors can cause the algae to leave the coral’s tissue leaving the coral without a source of food and cause them to go very pale (bleached) and more susceptible to disease.

Question 19

What is the importance of coral ecosystems?

Answer 19

-They shelter 25% of marine species
-Protect shorelines
-Provide income from tourism (Great Barrier Reef)

Question 20

What is the effect of ocean acidification on coral?

Answer 20

Ocean acidification causes the dissolution of the calcium structure that makes up the coral.

Ocean acidification occurs in warming seas, but it is not the primary killer of corals.

Question 21

What happens once the critical threshold of coral health is passed?

Answer 21

Point of no return. Reefs cannot recover to full health once line is crossed.

Question 22

How can humans directly affect coral?

Answer 22

-Pollution through oil spills or plastic pollution (stresses coral-algae symbiotic relationship)
-Boats and trawlers which scratch and rip up coral reefs beneath by accident (Thai island of Phi Phi Lee)

Question 23

How can an increase in drought frequency affect forests as carbon stores?

Answer 23

-Cause foliage loss and impairs water transport = less photosynthesis and less carbon absorbed (slows 10% over 6 month period)
-Unhealthy growth of trees
-Trees take up to 2-4 years to fully recover from trees
-Soils drying out = loss of vegetation, poorer drainage and increased evaporation + soils begin to emit rather than store greenhouse gases and capacity to store carbon greatly diminishes
-Forest fires lead to the release of large quantities of CO2, e.g. in California, Australia and worryingly in Brazil (Amazon droughts 2014-15)
-Further fires and drying up of soil may result in forests like the Amazon becoming carbon sources instead of sinks, accelerating global warming further.

Question 24

What are the human implications of forest loss?

Answer 24

-Burning of wood in forest fires emits aerosols (solid particles) and wind blown soil, both of which impair air quality and cause respiratory problems (181% increase in hospitalisations following 2005 Amazon drought)
-Indigenous communities rely on forests for their livelihoods (see another flashcard for example)
-Local communities driven from their homes in the forest by industry (can result in conflict, e.g. 700 conflicts in 2016 between palm oil industry and locals)
-Can influence local climate for inhabitants (less evapotranspiration and so less water availability)
-Loss of forestry industry, especially timber, which contributes greatly to national GDPs like that of Canada ($60 billion to global GDP) and is a loss of a key source of employment
-Loss of a source of fuel, particularly in developing countries or traditional societies where wood still is the primary source of fuel (e.g. 2011 wood accounted for 88.6% of all fuel)

Question 25

What do indigenous communities rely on the forest for?

Answer 25

Their entire livelihoods from building resources to medicines… E.g. Efe tribe of Congo rely solely on the rainforest with their houses made from wood; wood for cooking and as a fuel/source of heat; animals such as antelopes, hogs and monkeys are a source of food as well as fish, berries, nuts (some Efe even sell forests hog meat to other people in the region as a source of income); forest plants are used as medicines; they also believe in the spiritual significance of the forest and worship a God who created the world and is identified with the forest (as everything is dependent on the forest for them)

Question 26

What is the environmental Kuznet’s curve?

Answer 26

Suggests that as a country develops it goes through stages of environmental damage…
-First stage there is rapid economic development when demand for products has impacts on the environment (huge resource exploitation and consumption, and the development of new technologies) (low income countries/traditional societies)
-Second stage there is concern around degradation of the environment and damage slows (middle income countries)
-Third stage there is action taken over concerns in second stage with education programmes, funding for environmental protection and green energy initiatives to fuel future economic growth and development (e.g. wind) (high income countries such as the Nordics)

Question 27

What can the environmental Kuznet’s curve tell us about forest loss/gain?

Answer 27

It explains why more developed countries with higher GDPs per capita overall often see net forest gain over net loss, whilst the inverse is true for less developed countries.

Question 28

How are rising temperatures actually positively impacting on human wellbeing in the arctic?

Answer 28

Warming climate = previously ice-bound wilderness areas are opened up to tourism (more permafrost thaws) = gives local communities (Inuits, Sami, Kven…) opportunity to capitalise on expanding tourism industry and improve the economic standing of these traditionally deprived and isolate communities.

Question 29

How are rising temperatures negatively impacting human wellbeing in the Arctic?

Answer 29

Increased risk of physical hazards
Flooding - 9.8% increase in river discharge in Arctic rivers from the 1970s to 2000s due to increasing spring snowmelts has increased the risk of overflowing rivers and flooding (especially in early spring if the ground has still not thawed and so cannot be infiltrated)
Avalanches - increased temperature means more snow melting creating slippier slopes (Norwegian Lyngen Alps)

Disrupting/annihilating traditional ways of life (fishing, hunting, herding…)
Sami - as permafrost thaws at higher latitudes, reindeers move away from traditional lands of Sami families into areas which are still characteristic of their favoured environment causing the Sami to have to relocate further north or get new non-traditional jobs and assimilate into mainstream Scandinavian society causing cultural erosion (loss of traditions, loss of language, loss of identity…)
Inuits - traditional practices of igloo building and ice-fishing are hard to continue in a warming climate

Question 30

How can climate change impact on the well-being of coastal communities in developing regions?

Answer 30

Reduced tourism - over 100 countries benefit from tourism brought by the attraction of coral reefs ($9.6bn industry). Coral reef tourism is important in the South Pacific and the Caribbean especially where scuba diving to see the reefs brings in lots of money for coastal businesses. However, the degradation of coral (coral bleaching) due to climate change has diminished the attraction of tourism and greatly threatens coastal communities which rely on such tourism.

Need for coastal defences - rising sea levels due to global warming has greatly threatened coastal infrastructure and communities (big problem in the Maldives and the Seychelles). The costs of strengthening coastal defences in the face of rising sea levels often exceeds the financial resources of developing island/coastal countries. Furthermore, linking back to tourism, if coasts in countries like the Maldives were to be protected by hard flood defences (flood walls…) then tourism would be deterred.

Disruption to fishing - 520 million people globally rely on fisheries for food and a source of income. Climate change has affected the distribution and productivity of species and food webs across the globe making waters across the globe less fishable. Tropical waters (where most developing coastal communities are) have been affected, but also the North Atlantic which British, Norwegian and Icelandic fishermen rely on, rising temperatures in the N Atlantic has killed the cold water plankton that the cod population eats affecting the health and number of cod.

Coral no longer protects coastlines - coral across the globe has been degraded and weakened as a result of ocean warming and acidification which has caused coral bleaching. This has meant that coral cannot carry out its ecosystem system of acting as a buffer between coastal communities and the sea (protecting coastal communities from storm surges and flooding), this means that coastal infrastructure and lives are now at greater risk (as evidenced by Comoros). Many developing countries which rely on coral to act as a buffer with the sea, struggle to adapt to such changes in the ocean (unlike the Netherlands…).

Question 31

Why is there uncertainty in the projections of future atmospheric CO2 concentrations?

Answer 31

Uncertainty over carbon sinks
Ocean sink - Oceans take decades to respond to changes in greenhouse gas concentrations and so accurately projecting future CO2 concentrations is difficult making it uncertain

Forest sink - In many HICs there is net forest gain but in LICs there is net forest loss (environmental Kuznets curve) as forests are exploited to foster economic growth. As such, hard to predict economic factors like population or economic growth will have a huge influence on rates of deforestation in the future which will in turn destroy forests which are huge carbon sinks and impact on future CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and

Uncertainty over feedback cycles
Positive feedback cycle - As peatlands dry out and permafrost thaws, CO2 and methane is released adding to the greenhouse affect causing greater warming

Negative feedback cycle - Warmer and drier climates may lead to more dust in the atmosphere. Dust particles reflect solar rays and reduce the amount of incoming solar radiation.

Uncertainty over possible geographical ‘tipping points’
Tipping-points are changes in the climate of a region, or an ecosystem, from one stable state to another stable state as a result of change over years, often the change is irreversible. There is uncertainty over when or where we could see tipping points .
E.g. one tipping point is forest dieback such as in the boreal forest ecosystem where hot and dry summers lead to water stress and cause trees to die and a tipping point could be when trees in the forest became so unhealthy (or so many dead) that the trees will no longer be absorb enough CO2 from the atmosphere leading to increased CO2 in the atmosphere compared to normal rates.

Question 32

What are the 4 adaption strategies to handle climate change?

Answer 32

-Water conservation and management (using water efficiently to reduce unnecessary water usage + managing water resources in terms of quantity, and quality, across all water uses = protecting water ecosystems from drying out and limiting water waste)

-Resilient agricultural systems (conservation cropping with ploughing and fewer fertilisers + early or late planting to match changes in climate + irrigation methods which improve resilience of agriculture in drier periods)

-Land use planning with flood risk management (zoning so that people and valuable property is not built in areas at an increased risk of flooding, instead these zones have parks, fields or wetlands + resilient infrastructure or improving resistance of homes with raised floors, stronger foundations…)

-Solar radiation management (geo-engineering which aims to reflect solar rays by pumping sulphur aerosols into the upper atmosphere or cloud brightening with seawater or space based reflectors)

Question 33

Where has water management been used to adapt to climate change?

Answer 33

Israel - range of strategies from recycling of sewage water for agriculture to smart irrigation to deal with lack of domestic freshwater supplies

China - water saving irrigation in drier areas (10% drop in water consumption from 2007-09)

Question 34

Where has resilient agriculture systems been used to adapt to climate change?

Answer 34

China - early/late planting to match cc and crops designed to withstand higher temperatures (Maize yields forecasted to increase by 15% by 2050) and the use of higher lake levels for irrigation during dry periods in Northern Tibet to improve grassland productivity as it has gradually been degrading

Question 35

Where has land use planning been used to adapt to climate change?

Answer 35

Australia - raised floors and water resistant materials common in Australian flood plains

-Philippines - houses with stilts

Question 36

Where has solar radiation management been used to adapt to climate change?

Answer 36

Australia - marine cloud brightening being trialed by Australian govt backed enterprise to reduce heat impacts on great barrier reef

Washington state - $40-50 million cloud brightening research plan

Question 37

What are the pros and cons of water management as an adaption to climate change?

Answer 37

Pros - enables maximisation of limited resources, reduces net global water waste, helps improve food security, attitudinal changes to conservation is extremely effective

Cons - some areas may not be able to keep up with demands of manufacturing, hard engineering strategies are expensive, efficiency/conservation cannot match always increasing demand, changing cultural habits needs enforcement

Question 38

What are the pros and cons of resilient agricultural systems management as an adaption to climate change?

Answer 38

Pros - can increase yields, can improve plant diversity, can improve soil health (erosion, structure…), not expensive, no hard engineering, enables survival of agriculture

Cons - more expensive technology or seeds/breeds unavailable to poor subsistence farmers (without aid), high energy costs from indoor or intensive farming, genetic modification used to make more resistance strains of plants (rice, soya…) debated, growing food insecurity adds pressure to find quicker fixes

Question 39

What are the pros and cons of land use planning as an adaption to climate change?

Answer 39

Pros - land use planning of undeveloped land is low cost and has benefit of no cost of repairs, management lowers risk of damage to property or livelihoods and enables lives to continue in at risk areas

Cons - high financial cost of relocating people and contest from locals, reduced property values in at risk areas

Question 40

What are the pros and cons of solar radiation management as an adaption to climate change?

Answer 40

Pros - techniques could be deployed relatively quickly, they offset some of the effects of greenhouse gases and could act as a new o zone layer

Cons - may cause unpredictable weather changes to precipitation, evaporation or regional temps, albedo effect not fully understood so could be much less effective than initially thought, space based reflectors would be extremely expensive (at least 5 trillion USD), all countries would have to agree to space reflectors (diplomatic nightmare), all quite uncertain and unpredictable

Question 41

What are the 4 mitigation strategies to handle climate change?

Answer 41

-Carbon taxation (tax on fossil fuel consumption to disincentivise use of fossil fuels and encourage use of renewables)

-Renewable energy development and efficient energy use (switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy such as wind and HEP, and to recyclable energy such as biofuels or nuclear + efficiency is just reducing the amount of energy used)

-Afforestation (planting more trees to sequester more carbon and reduce flooding)

-Carbon capture storage (using pipelines to capture CO2 emissions at the source and trap them in underground carbon reservoirs)

Question 42

Where has carbon taxation been used to mitigate climate change?

Answer 42

UK - carbon price floor places a tax on fossil fuels to generate elec since 2013

Question 43

Where has renewable energy and energy efficiency been used to mitigate climate change?

Answer 43

Sweden - world leader in switch to renewables (oil fallen from 3/4s of energy mix in 1970 to less than a 1/4 now)

Germany - world leader in energy efficiency whilst balancing it with substantial economic growth (required all buildings to cut consumption by 1/4, provides loans to renovate older less energy efficient properties, subsidies to improve efficiencies in manufacturing)

Question 44

Where has afforestation been used to mitigate climate change?

Answer 44

Canada and Sweden - world leaders

South Korea - successful turnaround from degradation due to war in 40s and 50s as well as slash and burn agriculture (2/3s of Korea now forested with 2.3 million hectares of forest added from 1950-99, huge government rehabilitation projects)

Question 45

Where has CCS been used to mitigate climate change?

Answer 45

Canada - the Boundary Dam coal-fired power station is only commercial CCS facility in the world (as of 2016)

Question 46

What are the pros and cons of carbon taxation as a mitigation strategy to climate change?

Answer 46

Pros - discourages fossil fuel use, encourages saving, encourages switch to cleaner alternatives, money and from taxing carbon can be invested into developing alternative energy resources (e.g. Norwegian sovereign wealth fun from North Sea Oil and Gas)

Cons - can inhibit economic development by putting industry off moving to a country if tax is too high, not always effective, only target carbon from fossil fuels (not other carbon compounds such as methane with more warming power)

Question 47

What are the pros and cons of a switch to renewable energy resources and energy efficiency as mitigation strategies to climate change?

Answer 47

Pros - renewables are cheaper, better for the environment (fewer emissions) and not finite like fossil fuels, less energy usage is cheaper

Cons - switch to renewables often negatively affects energy efficiency increasing consumption

Question 48

What are the pros and cons of afforestation as a mitigation strategy to climate change?

Answer 48

Pros - large scale projects can restore degraded environments, prevent soil erosion and improves the role of forests as carbon sinks

Cons - stress on space to plant trees and bureaucratic challenges such as getting licensing over building plans on private land may restrict afforesting that can be done

Question 49

What are the pros and cons of CCS as a mitigation strategy to climate change?

Answer 49

Pros - boundary dam alone set to reduce gg emissions by 1 mil tonnes a year and so has huge potential once developed worldwide to reduce gg emissions

Cons - carbon reservoirs could leak contaminating nearby aquifers or causing a mass escape into the atmosphere, very high financial cost, only in use in one place on earth as of now

Question 50

What does mitigation need to be successful?

Answer 50

Difficult and often controversial decisions. E.g. rapid emission cuts difficult as fossil fuels power lives across the globe, but they also power the industry necessary for the emergence of countries like India and China and the development of LICs.

Needs to be coordinated internationally. If all countries do not make an effort we will never see the worldwide change we need to improve the health of our climate. E.g. Paris climate accords helps coordinate mitigation (emission reduction)

Question 51

What are the barriers preventing climate change mitigation globally?

Answer 51

-Agreeing strategies internationally notoriously hard as many countries try to protect their own interests above all else
-Different levels of government (local vs national) often disagree about methodology and priorities
-Curbing emissions may hinder economic growth for developing countries (which is unfair since developed countries never faced such restrictions whilst they were developing)
-Gov’ts scared of losing votes over issues such as carbon taxation
-Reducing greenhouse emissions could increase manufacturing costs for TNCs which dominate international trade (more expensive products or services, cutbacks to jobs…)
-Different viewpoints in regards to the urgency of climate change as an issue. People at risk from rising sea levels such as the Maldives view it as a much more urgent and desperate issue than those in other countries