One of the following regions has the world's largest tropical peatland, which holds about three years worth of global carbon emissions from fossil fuels; and the possible destruction of which can exert detrimental effect on the global climate. Which one of the following denotes that region?
AAmazon Basin
BCongo Basin
CKikori Basin
DRio de la Plata Basin
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. Congo Basin
Answer: B. The Congo Basin hosts the world's largest tropical peatland.
The Cuvette Centrale peatland in the central Congo Basin (Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo) was scientifically mapped in 2017 and confirmed as the world's largest tropical peat complex. It covers about 145,000 sq km and stores roughly 30 gigatonnes of carbon — equivalent to about three years of global fossil-fuel CO2 emissions. Destruction of this peatland through drainage or logging would release massive amounts of stored carbon.
Distractors fail because: (A) the Amazon Basin has substantial peatlands but smaller; (C) Kikori Basin in Papua New Guinea is much smaller; (D) Rio de la Plata is temperate.
Source: Nature 2017 — Dargie et al., 'Age, extent and carbon storage of the central Congo Basin peatland complex.'
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