Question

Burning Paper or wood is the same chemical reaction as cellular respiration in that sugar combines with oxygen gas to produce carbon dioxide, water and energy. Explain how the burning of forests relates to the greenhouse effect, in which the air accumulates too much carbon dioxide. Why would planting more trees help reduce the greenhouse effect?

Answer 1

Burning of forests produce too much CO2 to the atmosphere.

Sunlight shines onto the Earth's surface, where it is absorbed and then radiates back into the atmosphere as heat. In the atmosphere «greenhouse» gases (eg. CO2) trap some of this heat and the rest escapes into space. The more greenhouse gases (CO2) in the atmosphere, the more heat gets trapped (more light rays can't be returned to the space).

Planting more new trees would help reduce concentration of CO2 in the air, because plants use carbon dioxide and release O2 in the processes of photosynthesis:

Overall equation of photosynthesis:

Therefore green plantations will absorb CO2 (at a ratio of greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 55% of CO2) and allocate oxygen, resulting in the decreasing of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere which will reduce the greenhouse effect.