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Arctic Boreal Zone - Carbon Source
February 20 , 2025
4 hrs 0 min
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- The Arctic Boreal Zone, encompassing the treeless tundra, boreal forests, and the wetlands spread over 26 million square kilometres, has undergone a significant transformation.
- 40 per cent of this region has become a carbon source, releasing more of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than it absorbs.
- This is marking a shift from its role as a carbon sink for millennia.
- The researchers suggest the shift may have started before 1990.
- The carbon source areas were distributed across Alaska (44 per cent), northern Europe (25 per cent), Canada (19 per cent), and Siberia (13 per cent).
- The Arctic Boreal Zone has experienced significant “greening,” with 49 per cent of the region showing longer growing seasons and increased vegetation.
- However, only 12 per cent of the region acts as a net carbon sink annually.
- A carbon sink absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases.
- A carbon source, on the other hand, releases more carbon than it absorbs.
- Permafrost, defined as soil or rock that remains at or below 0 degrees Celsius for at least two consecutive years, stores vast amounts of carbon locked in ice.
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