Kyoto Protocol operations to minimize the impact on forest stands and soils, usually in
An agreement made under the United Nations Framework Convention individual tree selection cutting (FAO 2004).
on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Countries that ratify this protocol com-
mit to reducing their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other green- Reforestation
house gases (GHG), or engaging in emissions trading if they maintain Reforestation is ‘the direct human-induced conversion of non-forested
or increase emissions of these gases. The Kyoto Protocol now covers land to forested land through planting, seeding and/or the human-in-
more than 170 countries globally but only 60% of countries in terms duced promotion of natural seed sources, on land that was forested, but
of global greenhouse gas emissions. As of December 2007, the US and that has been converted to non-forested land’. In the first commitment
Kazakhstan are the only signatory nations not to have ratified the act. period of the Kyoto Protocol, reforestation activities have been defined
The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012, and as reforestation of lands that were not forested on 31 December 1989,
international talks began in May 2007 on a subsequent commitment but have had forest cover at some point during the past 50 years (An-
period (Peskett et al. 2008). gelsen 2008).
Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) Respiration
A greenhouse gas inventory sector that covers emissions and removals of The process whereby living organisms convert organic matter to carbon di-
greenhouse gases resulting from direct human-induced land use, land-use oxide, releasing energy and consuming molecular oxygen (IPCC 2007c).
change and forestry activities (UNFCCC 2009).
Sequestration
Leakage The removal of atmospheric carbon dioxide, either through biological pro-
In the context of climate change, carbon leakage is the result of interven- cesses (for example, photosynthesis in plants and trees, see Biosequestra-
tions to reduce emissions in one geographical area (subnational or nation- tion), or geological processes (for example, storage of carbon dioxide in
al) that lead to an increase in emissions in another area. For example, if underground reservoirs) (Department of Climate Change 2008).
curbing the encroachment of agriculture into forests in one region results
in conversion of forests to agriculture in another region this is considered Sink
to be ‘leakage’. In the context of REDD, leakage is also referred to as ‘emis- Any process, activity or mechanism that removes a greenhouse gas, an
sions displacement’ (Angelsen 2008). aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas or aerosol from the atmosphere
(IPCC 2007c).
LULUCF
See Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry Source
Any process, activity or mechanism that releases a greenhouse gas, an
Mitigation aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas or aerosol into the atmosphere
A human intervention to reduce the sources of or enhance the sinks for (IPCC 2007c).
greenhouse gases (Department of Climate Change 2008).
Sustainability
Ocean acidification A characteristic or state whereby the needs of the present and local popula-
A decrease in the pH of seawater due to the uptake of anthropogenic car- tion can be met without compromising the ability of future generations or
bon dioxide (IPCC 2007c). populations in other locations to meet their needs (Chopra et al. 2005).
Permanence United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The duration and non-reversibility of a reduction in GHG emissions (An- The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN-
gelsen 2008). This is an issue in the land use sector as carbon stored and FCCC) is the first international climate treaty. It came into force in 1994
sequestered in ecosystems is theoretically always vulnerable to release at and has since been ratified by 189 countries including the United States.
some undetermined point in the future. More recently, a number of nations have approved an addition to the treaty:
the Kyoto Protocol, which has more powerful (and legally binding) mea-
Precision agriculture sures (Kirby 2008).
A suite of technologies that promote improved management of agricultural
production by accounting for variations in crop performance in space. Also UNFCCC
sometimes called “precision farming”, “site-specific management” or “in- See United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
formation-intensive farming” (Robertson et al. 2007).
Zero tillage
Reduced-impact logging In zero-tillage agriculture, the soil is never turned over, and soil quality is
Intensively planned and carefully controlled implementation of harvesting maintained entirely by the continuous presence of a cover crop (FAO 2008).

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