Does this always work? 🤔
The Albedo effect
To combat climate change there's a drive to plant trees. But, in some instances, this can cause greater heat due to forests soaking up solar radiation. Carbon dioxide is a crucial factor in working out whether planting a forest in Europe is as effective as planting it in the tropics. This interacts with the albedo effect, which in other words, means how much electromagnetic radiation is absorbed or reflected off a given surface. Trees in the tropics reflect solar radiation because they are denser and absorb more CO2 whereas in Europe the forest is more deciduous and less likely to be as dense so absorbs more radiation while absorbing less CO2. If that's the case, then forests in Europe heat up the earth because they don't reflect radiation and they have a lower uptake of CO2 meaning they leave more CO2 in the atmosphere than they absorb.
Ice and the Albedo Effect
Another way to explain this is that ice reflects radiation so cools the planet because it is reflecting radiation rather than absorbing it. However, if the ice melts then the water which remains is less capable of reflecting radiation and, therefore, heats up the planet because the radiation has been soaked up by the water. Thus, it's not just that the ice caps are melting so causing water to rise. Rather, the bigger issue is that the melting or not of the ice in turn causes either the cooling or the heating of the planet due to its reflective properties.
Clouds and Climate Science
However, another important factor in the cooling of the planet is cloud cover. Clouds reflect solar radiation so have a cooling effect. And clouds gather above forested areas rather than say, grassland. This would be a persuasive argument for planting trees and forests. The problem has been that studying clouds has proved difficult. This is called the cloud-climate feedback. A notoriously difficult aspect of climate science to research! However researchers have discovered that clouds form over forests in the early afternoon which means that more solar radiation is reflected and for more hours in a day. Therefore, forests cool the planet because they attract clouds. Nevertheless, it's often argued that clouds may well cause global warming by trapping in heat. Whether clouds cool or heat up the earth depends on where the clouds are in the atmosphere and how dense they are. The thinner and higher they are the more they'll let in solar radiation which will contribute to global warming. It's a Catch 22. The more the earth heats up the thinner the clouds in the lower atmosphere become.
Reforestation or Afforestation?
It's tempting to then rush out 🏃🏃🏃🏃🏃and plant forests everywhere🌏🌎🌍 🌳🌲🌳🌲🌳🌱🌱🌲🌳🌲but that might not bring about the desired effect. In nature everything interconnects so if you do one thing it impacts on other things. Biodiversity has to be considered. The need for the cultivation of crop is another consideration. In the rush to plant trees have you maintained the biodiversity balance in the region? 🤔And should you undertake reforestation (where a forest existed before) or afforestation (where no forest existed before)?🤔 The latter being more costly. There also needs to be more research into clouds, and their role in climate change/global warming.
Addressing climate change, perhaps needs a multifaceted approach. I love trees so think planting trees is a good place to start. Nevertheless, more research needs to be done to offset climate change effectively, efficiently and economically.
My Apple Tree
Now to my apple tree 🌳 🍎 in my back garden. I've been monitoring its progress this year because last year was a lean year so no apple jam. This year I've been fascinated by the changes an apple tree goes through to bear fruit. Here are two photos I took on my mobile device:
This one above shows my Apple tree in blossom.
The other below shows the apples as they turn from green to pinkish red:
Eventually they'll be red apples. One of the joys of having a garden is to see changes both expected and unexpected. Being close to nature is one of the most precious things in life. Fortunately, the weather conditions last winter here in London, UK, were favourable for my tree flowering and consequently growing a good apple crop this summer, unlike the previous year.
Comments
Post a Comment