Forests declining, but tree cover on agricultural land increasing globally

NEW DELHI: Although deforestation continues unabated in tropical forests, a new study has revealed some unexpected good news: tree cover on agricultural land is increasing across the globe, capturing nearly 0.75 Gigatonnes (billion tonnes) carbon dioxide every year. "Remote sensing data show that in 2010, 43% of all agricultural land globally had at least 10% tree cover, up from eight percent in the preceding decade," said

Robert Zomer of the World Agroforestry Centre, lead author of the study. "Given the vast amount of land under agriculture, agroforestry may already significantly contribute to global carbon budgets." This tree cover on agricultural land will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land-use change which was estimated by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) at about 24% of the world's emissions. However, trees on agricultural lands are not considered in the greenhouse gas accounting framework of the IPCC.

Trees on agricultural lands - also known as agroforestry systems - have the potential to contribute to reduce the impact of climate change while improving livelihoods and incomes and providing invaluable ecosystem services at the same time. The World Bank estimates that globally 1.2 billion people depend on agroforestry farming systems, especially in developing countries.

A team of researchers from various institutions in Africa, Asia and Europe carried out a study to assess the role of trees on agricultural land and the amount of carbon they have sequestered from the atmosphere over the past decade.