PLANTING FORESTS TO HELP THE DROUGHT

The drought crisis in Africa is at an all time high with rising temperatures affecting agricultural land across the continent. Forests store about 2.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year and help mitigate climate change. It thus makes sense that, planting forests can help drought-stricken regions by using forests to influence rainfall patterns.

Source: worldbank.org

"Growing trees take water from the soil and release it into the atmosphere. Tree leaves also act as interceptors, catching falling rain, which then evaporates causing rain precipitation elsewhere - a process known as evapotranspiration" - cifor.org.

Source: cgdev.org The impact of deforestation is monumental as it accounts for nearly 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Gaining a better understanding about this process will help us to better prepare ourselves for enhancing the roles of forests to adapt to climate change.