Up until a paradigm shift signals the widespread
introduction of renewable energy resources, carbon emissions will continue to
act as a hindrance towards the facilitation of sustainable cities. Due to the
fact that development of renewable energy resources are still in their
embryonic stages, and resource consumption continues to grow (quintupling over
the last 5 decades), carbon storage initiatives will be necessary to minimise
the inevitable effects of global warming.
Such initiatives themselves are still very much
experimental, with early research pointing towards the fact that they can
largely be considered as site dependent. In the Huon Valley, Tasmania, a 80m
steel tower has been erected amongst a eucalypt forest with the intention of
monitoring fluctuations in the amount of carbon, water and energy between the
land and atmosphere. In accordance with monitoring soil samples, trees and
bugs, scientists hope the data will reveal how and when forests store and
release carbon. In turn, such knowledge will be able to inform decision making
regarding whether it is better, from a carbon storage standpoint, to leave
mature forests untouched or instead harvest and regrow them. Over the past 12
months, the key finding has been that the hotter days, the forests take in much
less carbon then on the cooler days. As a consequence, this in turn dictates
the need to take swift action before global average temperatures rise further.
Denholm, M, 2014. Forest tower finds the answers to carbon
puzzle. The Weekend Australian, 5-6 April. 10.
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