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Management strategies - carbon cycle - Coggle Diagram
Management strategies - carbon cycle
Wetland restoration
Wetlands are freshwater marshes, saltwater marshes, peatlands, floodplains and mangroves with their common feature being that they have a water table close to the surface which means they're permanently saturated
They contain 35% of the global carbon pool
Loss of wetlands reduces biodiversity and also transfers significant amounts of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere
Restoration focusses on raising local water tables and re-created waterlogged conditions
Wetlands on floodplains can be reconnected to rivers through the removal of flood embankments and controlled floods.
Water levels can be maintained at artificially high levels by diverting or blocking drainage ditches and installing sluice gates
Afforestation
Trees are carbon sinks, afforestation can help reduce climatic CO2 levels.
Reduce flood risks
Reduce soil erosion
Increasing biodiversity
Advantages
Inexpensive way of curbing greenhouse gas emissions
The REDD scheme incentivises developing countries to conserve their rainforests by placing a monetary value on forest conservation.
In China, an afforestation project began in 1978 which aims to afforest 400,000 km2 (size of Spain) by 2050. They did this using non-native species, poplar and birch.
However the project has a much broader aim, to combat desertification and land degradation in the semi-arid areas of northern China
Agricultural practices
Why is this necessary?
Overcultivation, overgrazing and the intensification of farming often results in severe soil erosion as well as the release of carbon into the atmosphere.
Intensive farming produces 100 million tonnes/year of methane
Strategies
Land and crop management
Zero tillage - growing crops without ploughing
Polyculture - growing annual crops alongside trees which helps protect soils from erosion
Crop residues - leaving crop residues on fields to act as a cover and protect soils from erosion and dehydration
Growing rice crops that release less methane
Livestock management
Improving quality of animal feed so that less feed is converted into methane
Manure management
Controlling manure decomposition to reduce methane emissions
International agreements
1997 Kyoto Protocol: Most developed countries agreed to reduce their CO2 emissions but developing countries were exempted. This expired in 2012.
Paris Climate Convention 2020: Reduce CO2 emissions by 60% under the 2010 levels by 2050 but these aren't legally binding, they're voluntary.
Rich countries will transfer money to developing countries in order to fund technology. There's acknowledgement that global warming is richer country's responsibility
This is because EDC's like China and India rely on industrialisation for a strong economy
Historically, the global north have already undergone the industrialisation process and so they're largely responsible for the effects
Cap and Trade
Businesses are allocated a quota for carbon dioxide emissions and if they emit less, they receive carbon credits which can be traded on international markets.
Businesses that exceed quotas must buy carbon credits or incur financial penalities