Arctic Boreal Zone (ABZ)

Arctic Boreal Zone (ABZ): As wildfires become more frequent and intense across the globe — from the U.S. and Japan to India — they are not only causing destruction to lives and property but also disrupting the earth’s carbon balance.

• Recent studies show that the Arctic Boreal Zone (ABZ), once a major carbon sink, is now increasingly releasing more carbon than it absorbs, raising concerns about a dangerous climate feedback loop.
• About: The Arctic Boreal Zone (ABZ) is a major carbon sink with tundra, coniferous forests, and wetlands that absorb carbon and sequester it in permafrost.

o Its coniferous forest is the world’s largest land-based biome.

o Key Findings from the Study in Nature Climate Change: Over 30% of ABZ has stopped capturing carbon and is now releasing it due to increasing wildfires.

o Alaska accounts for 44% of the new emissions, northern Europe for 25%, and Siberia for 13%.

• Reasons for Increased Carbon Release: Thawing tundra permafrost due to global warming has dried out the soil, changed plant types, raised soil temperature, and caused organic decomposition, releasing CO₂.
• Consequences: Intense wildfires burn through natural carbon reservoirs → more carbon released into atmosphere → further global warming → more wildfires.

o The 2024 Arctic Report Card by NOAA confirmed this trend: Arctic tundra is turning into a carbon source, absorbing more pollution due to fossil fuel burning.

o Arctic’s vital signs are consistently showing record-high or record-low values, indicating long-term persistent changes, not short-term variability, per NOAA scientist Gerald Frost.