Do rainforests absorb carbon dioxide

Answer 1

Oceans and rainforests are both carbon sinks that hold carbon we would not want released into the atmosphere, especially at the same time as human activities are adding massive volumes of new carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

The oceans can absorb additional carbon dioxode in proportion to increased atmospheric concentrations resulting from human activities, but rainforests do not. Mature rainforests are effectively static reservoirs that sequester a more or less fixed quantity of carbon. On the other hand, as the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide rises, around thirty per cent of that increase is absorbed by the oceans. Since carbon dioxide in solution becomes carbonic acid, this is beginning to bleach corals and weaken shells.

Answer 2

Another contributor wrote:

The trees in the rainforests take in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen which takes up 21% of air in the Earth. When deforestation takes place (when an area of land is cleared of its trees) in the rainforests there are no trees to take in the carbon dioxide. This results in global warming, as the carbon dioxide traps heat within the Earth's atmosphere.

Answer 3

Yes, rainforests are crucial in absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis. Trees and plants take in carbon dioxide and store it as carbon in their biomass, helping to reduce the amount of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. This makes rainforests important in combating climate change.