From Louis Verchot, International Centre for Research in Agroforestry
Your dubious suggestion that forests pollute the atmosphere is not new, but it is still wrong (16 October, p 18). Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a natural component of the atmosphere and have always been emitted by forests. To suggest that increased biogenic VOC emissions due to the re-establishment of forest vegetation is “pollution” is absurd.
Without nitrogen oxide pollution, all of which is anthropogenic, VOCs would never react in the atmosphere to produce dangerous ozone levels. In fact, without it VOCs would react in such a way as to reduce ozone levels. The real point of the article you mention is that the increase in plantation forestry has inadvertently increased regional biogenic VOCs emissions because of the choice of species planted. This is compromising efforts to reduce ozone levels. Efforts to curb ozone pollution need to focus on nitrogen oxides, which are not natural components of the atmosphere, rather than on biogenic VOCs, which are.
Nairobi, Kenya
