3 ms·
I wonder how much co2 these "tens of millions" of fires emit vs global human energy consumption.
by grannyg00se 15y ago
I wonder how much co2 these "tens of millions" of fires emit vs global human energy consumption.
- dredmorbius 15y agoNet-net, probably not much. The fires represent biomass, and at best, with the oldest living trees, represent carbon sequestered 10,000 years ago. By comparison, most petroleum deposits were formed from biomass several millions of years ago. And that is the problem with fossil-fuel based carbon release: we've returned, in a matter of decades, carbon that was removed from the biosphere over millions of years. The mean age of carbon released by forest fires is probably far lower than the 10,000 year maximum. Tree lifecycles typically range in the 100s of years, shrubs in the decades, and grasslands are perennial. Too: following a burn, many areas see a greatly accelerated growth of flora, driven by many characteristics: minerals and nutrients liberated by the burn, greater incident sunlight, and less competition from old-growth plants. Of course in the case of ag land clearing, much of this goes out the window.
- dredmorbius 15y agoErm: grasses have an annual cycle. They may be "annuals" (dying each year) or perennial, but the bulk of their biomass is regenerated annually.