Since land use plays a central role in mitigating climate change, it is important
study how it changes and develops. Karina Winkler, geographer at Wageningen University
Plants and soil, especially in tropical forests, absorb about 30% of carbon volume, so it is important to monitor global landscape changes and monitor the balance.
In a new work, the authors found out that since 1960the total forest cover of the Earth has decreased by almost a million km², while the area covered by arable land and pastures has increased by about the same.
However, such global figures do not reflectdifferences between regions. Thus, forest areas on The North, Europe, Russia, East Asia and North America have increased over the past 60 years, but forest loss in the South and developing countries has been unreasonably high.
Rainforests have been cut down to produce beef, sugarcane and soybeans in the Amazon, oil palms in Southeast Asia, and cocoa in Nigeria and Cameroon.
The study also found that about 17% of the earth's surface has changed status at least once since 1960.
Read more
Natural radio emission found in the atmosphere of Venus
Scientists have shown how a black hole tears apart a star
Physicists have created an analogue of a black hole and confirmed Hawking's theory. Where it leads?