Great Green WallsAs concerns about global climate change mount, ways to mitigate some of its effects

Great Green WallsAs concerns about global climate change mount, ways to mitigate some of its effects are being explored. One method would be to make use of CO2 “sinks”. The main natural CO2 sinks are the oceans, plants, and other organisms that photosynthesize, which effectively remove CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in the form of their own biomass. Two large-scale projects, begun for different reasons, may also help fight some of the effects of climate change.In 1978, China began a long-term tree-planting project across multiple northern provinces in an effort to hold back the encroaching sands of the Gobi desert. Since then, at least 100,000 square miles of trees have been planted across northern China, some by hand and others by seed dropped from airplanes. Officially known as the “Three-North Shelter Forest Programme”, the effort has been nicknamed the “Great Green Wall of China”.Remote sensing studies, most notably one from the Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science at the University of New South Wales in Australia, show that the total amount of carbon stored in living biomass above the soil has increased globally by almost 3.6 billion metric tons since 2003. Although an increase of vegetation has been seen in Australia, Africa, and South America, as well the secondary succession of abandoned farmland in Russia and the former Soviet republics, a significant amount of reforestation has occurred due to the Chinese project.The project is not without its critics, however, who cite statistics showing that the ambitious project has an 85% failure rate for establishing the new growth. There is also concern from scientists, both in and outside of China, that trying to grow non-native species will cause more harm than good. There is fear that the trees will use up already scarce water supplies and that the lack of diversity in the plantation monocultures will not provide habitat for threatened native species of trees or wildlife.Meanwhile, in Africa, another large-scale project is taking shape. Scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture have estimated that roughly 33% of global land surface, home to some 1 billion people, is undergoing desertification. Half of this land is found in sub-Saharan Africa. Under the umbrella of the “Great Green Wall” initiative, eleven countries joined together in 2005 to fight against many years of land degradation and restore plant life to a band of land 7100 km (4400 mi) long and 15 km (9 mi) wide across the continent. Within this region, climate change, extreme weather, and human actions have created widespread land degradation, the most common causes of which are poor agricultural practices like overfarming and overgrazing.Unlike the efforts in China, the African project is using an integrated approach that allows each country in the initiative to address the issues within their local contexts. Environmental organizations are working with the people to improve soil quality, which will in turn improve agricultural production and quality of life. In Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, farmer managed natural regeneration of plant growth has yielded great results. Other successes include the planting of more than 202 sq. km. (50,000 acres) of trees in Senegal. Many of the trees planted are native acacia trees, which produce the economically important food additive, gum arabic. A lesser number of fruit trees have also been planted to help combat the extreme malnutrition found in rural areas of the country. The BBC has reported that improvements of land quality and economic opportunity in Mali may have great social impact and eventually help to reduce terrorism and political and religious extremism in a country stricken by famine and poverty.CWImagehttp://bit.ly/1ODWUg1Sourceshttp://bit.ly/1dcWtcFhttps://www.thegef.org/gef/great-green-wallhttp://education.nationalgeographic.org/news/great-green-wall/http://bit.ly/1SG6aSEhttp://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/carbon_dioxide_sink.htmhttp://bit.ly/1PMvTmv -- source link

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