Massachusetts: According to a study conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, global deforestation is responsible for up to 10 percent of mercury released into the atmosphere every year due to human activities.
From the Amazon to sub-Saharan Africa, forests work to clean the air of toxins. However, mercury emissions are estimated to increase further if deforestation continues at the current rate or faster.
Dr. Ari Feinberg, the lead author of the study, said that the main sources of mercury pollution are being completely ignored, and this is especially happening in tropical regions.
The researchers’ model showed in the study that the Amazon rainforest plays a very important role in absorbing mercury. Therefore, reducing deforestation in the Amazon could significantly reduce mercury pollution.
According to estimates presented by the team, global reforestation could reduce annual emissions by up to 5 percent.
Over the past decades, scientists have studied deforestation as a source of global carbon dioxide emissions. But mercury has not received equal attention in this regard, in part because the global mercury cycle has only recently been better defined.
Plant leaves absorb mercury from the atmosphere in much the same way as carbon dioxide. But unlike carbon dioxide, mercury has no primary biological function for plants.
Mercury remains on the leaf until it falls to the forest floor. After it falls on the ground, the soil absorbs it.
Scientists are concerned that mercury could poison the food chain by reaching water bodies.
Mercury can be stored much better in soil than in the ocean, Ari Feinberg said. In this regard, forests are doing a great job for the environment by distilling mercury.
