How do healthy forests contribute to climate change mitigation?

Healthy forests play a crucial role in climate change mitigation primarily by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequestering carbon in biomass. This process, known as carbon sequestration, involves trees and plants taking in carbon dioxide (CO2) during photosynthesis. They use this CO2 to create organic matter, which is stored in their wood, leaves, and roots. As forests grow and mature, they continue to store increasing amounts of carbon, which helps to offset greenhouse gas emissions.

This function of forests is vital in the context of climate change because elevated levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are a significant driver of global warming. By acting as carbon sinks, healthy forests help to regulate the concentrations of greenhouse gases and thus play a critical part in mitigating the impacts of climate change.

In contrast, while consuming pollutants in the air and providing habitats for wildlife are important ecological functions of forests, they do not directly address the issue of reducing atmospheric CO2 levels. Additionally, increasing soil temperatures is not a benefit; rather, it can lead to negative effects such as increased decomposition rates and the release of more carbon back into the atmosphere, which would exacerbate climate change rather than alleviate it.