07 October 2021

Every second the Earth's atmosphere is filled with carbon dioxide waste from human activities on planet Earth. Humans, animals, motor vehicles and factories around the world dump excessive carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas) emissions into the Earth's atmosphere, which has led to global warming and environmental change.

To reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it is also necessary to absorb the greenhouse gases again. Every plant, both forest plants and oil palm plants, has the ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the earth's atmosphere. Through photosynthesis carried out by plants, carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere is absorbed by plants. Through the metabolism of these plants, carbon dioxide is broken down into carbon and oxygen. Carbon is then processed and converted into plant bodies - plants (roots, stems, leaves) and plant production for human needs. While oxygen is released into the earth's atmosphere/air for human life, which we breathe in when we take a breath.

Because plants have the ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the earth's atmosphere and produce oxygen (supply oxygen) to the earth's atmosphere, green plants are also called the “lungs” of the ecosystem. If we compare oil palm and forest. Each hectare of oil palm plantation net absorbs about 64 tons of carbon dioxide each year and produces 18 tons of oxygen.

Meanwhile, forests net absorb about 42 tons of carbon dioxide and produce about 7 tons of oxygen. Thus for the function of absorbing carbon dioxide from the earth's atmosphere and producing oxygen, oil palm plantations are superior to forests. 

Source : https://gapki.id/