It is known that 70 percent of the worlds agricultural area is covered with grassland, which is about half of the ice-free world. Almost one billion people depend on grassland for living and income. Well-controlled and improved grassland system is a key for nutrition production and sustainable environment in many countries. There was speculation in scientific circles about the role of vegetation in 2006 when a group of scientists published a report claiming that plants produced between ten to thirty percent of the worlds annual methane output (Keppler, Hamilton, Bra, & Rockmann, 2006).
The research showed that plants emit significant amount of Methane to the atmosphere (Frankenberg, Meirink, van Weele, Platt, & Wagner, 2005). This discovery shows that the emission of Methane not only depends on the species of the plant, but also the condition in where they are growing. The scientists revoked these observations a short while later. New studies based on laboratory experiments did not confirm the assertions. In fact, the new studies concluded that plants were incapable of the natural production of methane (Keppler, Hamilton, Bra, & Rockmann, 2006). However, when plants decompose in bogs and mashes in conditions of little or no oxygen, they produce methane.
Methane (CH4) is one of the gases that play a big role among the greenhouse gases. Concentrations of Methane have almost tripled since 1750 (pre-industrial time). Studies found that most of the Methane on the earth’s atmosphere originated from the absence of Oxygen. Reconsideration came about regarding the responsibility of Methane in the climate change after its identification. Other gases responsible for global warming include Carbon Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide, Ozone, and Water vapor (Mwebaza, 2009). Most of these gases are naturally occurring. However, human activities such as logging and destruction of natural carbon sinks, in addition to the burning of fossil fuels, reduces the ability of the earth to maintain the gases in a sustainable balance.
Since the industrial revolution, the quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has peaked at 398 parts per million, up from 280 parts per million (Mwebaza, 2009). The industrial revolution coincided with the emergence of petroleum as an important fuel in industry. In the latter parts of the twentieth century, the number of industries and motor vehicles increased dramatically causing an increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Scientists estimate the increase in temperature in the earth’s atmosphere at about 20c (Mwebaza, 2009). This is causing ice sheets in the Polar Regions to melt, and is responsible for an increase in adverse weather because of the increased quantity of water vapor in the atmosphere. This increase in the daily average temperature is also causing changes in ecosystems sensitive to weather changes. There is shift towards the poles of the tropical climate, with the spread of deserts affecting equatorial regions (Mwebaza, 2009).
Destruction of the ozone layer is interfering with the heat balance on earth. Naturally, ozone plays an important role in maintaining the heat balance by keeping away ultraviolet radiation. Its depletion increases the exposure of the earth this harmful radiation from the sun (McLeod, et al., 2008).
CO2 and CH4 contribute to the chemical destruction of Ozone while water vapor increases the propensity of the atmosphere to retain long-range radiation emitted by the earth after intercepting short wave radiation from the sun. Vegetation plays a leading role in the restoration of balance in the earth’s natural environment. Grass is the most abundant type of vegetation the world over hence the need to maintain the grass supplies to ensure that the natural processes involved in carbon sequestration remain active.
Reference List
Frankenberg, C., Meirink, J. F., van Weele, M., Platt, U., & Wagner, T. (2005). Assessing Methane Emissions from Global Space-Borne Observations. Science , 1010-1014.
Keppler, F., Hamilton, J. T., Bra, M., & Rockmann, T. (2006). Methane Emissions from Terrestrial Plants under Aerobic Conditions. Nature , 187-191.
McLeod, A., Fry, S. C., Loacke, G. J., Messanger, D. J., Reay, D. S., Smith, K. A., et al. (2008). Ultraviolet Radiation Drives Methane Emissions from Terrestrial Plant Pectins. New Phytologist , 124-132.
Mwebaza, R. (2009). The Impacts of Climate Change in East Africa. In R. Mwebaza, & L. Kotze (Eds.), Environmental Governance and Climate Change in Africa: Legal Perspectives. Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies.