Answer to Question #24044 in Inorganic Chemistry for Anisa

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 too much carbon dioxide.
Why would planting more trees help reduce the greenhouse effect?

Answer 1

Trees and other plants convert carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen. Deforestation (cutting trees, or burning of forests,like in your case) means there aren’t as many plants to carry out this process. To complicate the issue, whenever plants burn — which might happen intentionally to clear land or naturally such as with a lightening strike — they release carbon dioxide into the air. This natural gas makes it harder for heat to escape from Earth back out into space, potentially contributing to the greenhouse effect and increasing global warming.