The Effect of the Tropical Forest Ecosystem on Changes of CO₂ in the Atmosphere

Abstract

The effect of deforestation or reforestation in the tropics on changes of CO₂ in the atmosphere was investigated. The deforestation area in the tropics was estimated as 1, 100 to 2, 000 × 10 ⁴ha per year, and consequently the amount of carbon released annually would be 22 to 44 × 10⁸ ton. On the other hand, estimating the total carbon removed from the atmosphere during the period of recovery of the forests, the increment of storage of carbon amounted to 300 ton/ha during 35 years or 8.7 ton/ ha per year.