FORESTRY
ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
|
Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
|
|
|
a reservoir that readily releases carbon to another reservoir
|
|
|
a carbon reservoir that stores more carbon that it is releasing
|
|
|
something that causes carbon to leak out to the atmosphere
|
|
|
a carbon reservoir that is releasing more carbon than it is taking in
|
Detailed explanation-1: -A carbon sink is anything that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases – for example, plants, the ocean and soil. In contrast, a carbon source is anything that releases more carbon into the atmosphere than it absorbs – for example, the burning of fossil fuels or volcanic eruptions.
Detailed explanation-2: -A carbon sink is a natural or artificial reservoir that absorbs and stores the atmosphere’s carbon with physical and biological mechanisms. Coal, oil, natural gases, methane hydrate and limestone are all examples of carbon sinks.
Detailed explanation-3: -The burning of plant material and fossil fuels (particular the burning of fossil fuels) is a carbon source, adding about 9 gigatons of carbon into the atmosphere each year while the carbon sinks only remove about 5 gigatons. This means that we’re currently adding about 4 gigatons of carbon to the atmosphere each year.