Researchers say the biosphere, which includes the plants, animals and organisms on land around the world, has become a “net source” of greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide, reports the Washington Post, citing a study in the journal Nature.
“Thus, the biosphere is now adding to global warming in much the same way that all of our fossil fuels are,” says the article. “This overturns prior assumptions that the Earth’s land is a carbon ‘sink,’ which did not take into account these other greenhouse gases.”
The study “points the finger at phenomena like animal agriculture, rice cultivation and waste disposal as key features of climate change that don’t get much attention but that overall are causing the earth to heat up even more than it would otherwise,” said the Post. It also points to the challenge of containing emissions while the growing world population means greater demand for food.