carbon sinks
Natural pollution reservoirs
Carbon sinks are natural or artificial systems that absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they release.
Forests, oceans, and soil are the major natural carbon sinks—trees capture carbon through photosynthesis, oceans dissolve it in seawater.
The term appears frequently in climate policy discussions: Protecting forests as carbon sinks is essential to meeting emissions targets.
The opposite is a carbon source.
Densely treed land areas
- oceansVast saltwater bodies
- peatlandsWetlands with accumulated plant matter
- wetlandsWater-saturated terrain
- mangrovesSalt-water coastal trees
seagrass · soil · phytoplankton · algae · tundra · taiga · permafrost · grasslands
Act of setting apart
- absorptionProcess of taking in
- CO2Carbon dioxide formula
- greenhouse gasesEmissions that trap heat
- mitigationReduction of severity
net-zero · emissions reduction · Paris Agreement · Kyoto Protocol · climate policy · global warming · decarbonization
Replanting depleted woodlands
- afforestationIntroducing woods to treeless land
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
- protectionGuarding against harm
- stewardshipResponsible care of entrusted things
habitat restoration · land trust · reserve · greenbelt · conservancy · wildlife corridor · sustainable forestry · rewilding
Finest taxonomic rank
- habitatsNative dwelling places
- floraPlants of a region
- faunaAnimal life collectively
- keystone speciesOutsized ecological impact organism
pollinators · endemic · ecological balance · food web · biodiversity hotspots · old-growth · native vegetation · ecosystem health
forests
Densely treed land areas
- oceansVast saltwater bodies
- peatlandsWetlands with accumulated plant matter
- wetlandsWater-saturated terrain
mangroves · seagrass · soil · phytoplankton · algae · tundra · taiga · permafrost · grasslands · savannas
sequestration
Act of setting apart
- absorptionProcess of taking in
- CO2Carbon dioxide formula
- greenhouse gasesEmissions that trap heat
mitigation · net-zero · emissions reduction · Paris Agreement · Kyoto Protocol · climate policy · global warming · decarbonization
reforestation
Replanting depleted woodlands
- afforestationIntroducing woods to treeless land
- preservationMaintaining something's condition
- protectionGuarding against harm
stewardship · habitat restoration · land trust · reserve · greenbelt · conservancy · wildlife corridor · sustainable forestry · rewilding · land management
species
Finest taxonomic rank
keystone species · pollinators · endemic · ecological balance · food web · biodiversity hotspots · old-growth · native vegetation · ecosystem health
- Carbon CycleCO2, photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, CO2 levels
- forest conservationsustainable forestry, forest stewardship, forest management, reforestation, forest reserves
- Carbon ManagementCCS, CDR, biochar, sequestration, reforestation
- natural resourcescrude oil, lumber, water, gas, air
- rainforeststropical rainforest, canopy layer, forest floor, emergent layer, understory
- deforestationclear cutting, clearcutting, clear-cutting, illegal logging, selective logging
carbon sinksdeforestation
Large-scale woodland elimination
industrial emissions · respiration · outgassing · exhaust · smokestacks
sink, sinking, carbon, carbonated, sinkhole, carbohydrate, carbonation, carbonate, carbonic