Africa could be absorbing more carbon from the atmosphere than the continent actually emits. According to a two-year study of 11 African countries conducted by CarboAfrica, the continent accounts for up to 50% in atmospheric variations of carbon dioxide between seasons, year-to-year. This is a result in the changes in the balance between carbon captured through photosynthesis, emissions from fires, deforestation, and forest regulation.
The preliminary results of the project were presented at the Open Science on Africa and the Carbon Cycle: the CarboAfrica Project held in Accra, Ghana from November 25-27. Riccardo Valentini, University of Tuscia, Italy and CarboAfrica project coordinator, said the continent is taking in more carbon than it lets out, making Africa a “carbon sink.”
Researchers will continue analyzing data from the project through 2010.
CarboAfrica is an international research consortium of 15 institutions from Africa and Europe that includes the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
