Human Activity in China and India Dominates the Greening of Earth, NASA Study Shows

[Judi Lynn]

Charles Rotter / 2 hours ago February 14, 2020
From NASA

Feb. 11, 2019



Over the last two decades, the Earth has seen an increase in foliage around the planet, measured in average leaf area per year on plants and trees. Data from NASA satellites shows that China and India are leading the increase in greening on land. The effect stems mainly from ambitious tree planting programs in China and intensive agriculture in both countries. Credits: NASA Earth Observatory


The world is literally a greener place than it was 20 years ago, and data from NASA satellites has revealed a counterintuitive source for much of this new foliage: China and India. A new study shows that the two emerging countries with the world’s biggest populations are leading the increase in greening on land. The effect stems mainly from ambitious tree planting programs in China and intensive agriculture in both countries.

The greening phenomenon was first detected using satellite data in the mid-1990s by Ranga Myneni of Boston University and colleagues, but they did not know whether human activity was one of its chief, direct causes. This new insight was made possible by a nearly 20-year-long data record from a NASA instrument orbiting the Earth on two satellites. It’s called the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, and its high-resolution data provides very accurate information, helping researchers work out details of what’s happening with Earth’s vegetation, down to the level of 500 meters, or about 1,600 feet, on the ground.

Taken all together, the greening of the planet over the last two decades represents an increase in leaf area on plants and trees equivalent to the area covered by all the Amazon rainforests. There are now more than two million square miles of extra green leaf area per year, compared to the early 2000s – a 5% increase.

“China and India account for one-third of the greening, but contain only 9% of the planet’s land area covered in vegetation – a surprising finding, considering the general notion of land degradation in populous countries from overexploitation,” said Chi Chen of the Department of Earth and Environment at Boston University, in Massachusetts, and lead author of the study.

More:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/02/14/human-activity-in-china-and-india-dominates-the-greening-of-earth-nasa-study-shows/

[Boomer]

1. And yet...

CO2 levels keep rising. Greening is not enough.

[hatrack]

2. Ah, yes, Watts Up With That . . . .

And, as noted above, CO2 content continues to climb - above 416 ppm on 2/10.

We won't hit 420 ppm for 2020 for any monthly average, which does have a sort of symmetry to it, but we'll certainly get dailies at or above 420.