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Article: Southern forests and carbon absorption.(SPECTRUM)
- Article from:
- Environment
- Article date:
- September 1, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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New findings are proving contrary to the long-held belief that forests in northern locations absorb more carbon dioxide than their more southerly counterparts. An international team of researchers investigated the commonly held belief that of the nearly 8 billion tons of carbon emitted into the atmosphere annually, roughly 40 percent of this total accumulates in the atmosphere, 30 percent is absorbed by ocean waters, and the remaining 30 percent is absorbed by carbon sinks such as forests and other terrestrial ecosystems.
Scientists have for years believed that northern forests absorb vast quantities of the carbon dioxide emitted into the Earth's atmosphere. ...