2021年经济学人 海中劲草(2)

They posses another advantage, too. Unlike forests on land, blue-carbon ecosystems¹ do not burn. Climate change is intensifying² wildfires around the world. As forests burn, their carbon stocks are released back into the atmosphere. And fires can impede³ a forest's ability to capture carbon even after they have burned out. In a study published on February 25th in Nature Ecology and Evolution, researchers at the University of Stanford found that repeated fires favour slow-growing tree species. These are better able to survive blazes, but they are also less effective at soaking up cartbon than faster-growing species.

他们还有另一个优势。与陆地上的森林不同，蓝碳生态系统不会燃烧。气候变化正在加剧世界各地的野火。当森林燃烧时，它们的碳储存被释放回大气中。火灾会阻碍森林捕获碳的能力，即便它们已经燃烧殆尽。在2月25日发表在《自然生态与进化》杂志上的一项研究中，斯坦福大学的研究人员发现，火灾的经常爆发对生长缓慢的树种有利。它们在火灾中的存活能力更强，但它们吸收碳的效率也不如生长速度较快的物种。

Submerged forests may be impervious⁴ to fires, but they remain vulnerable to other sorts of disasters. In May 2020 cyclone⁵ Amphan destroyed 1,200 square kilometres of mangrove⁶ forest on the border between Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal. A marine⁷ heatwave in Australian waters in 2010 and 2011 damaged around one third of the world's largest seagrass meadow, in Shark Bay. Over the next three years field studies showed that uprooted⁸ plants were releasing their carbon back into the atmosphere.

水下森林可能不受洪水的影响，但它们仍易受到其他灾害的影响。2020年5月，气旋“安芬”摧毁了孟加拉国和印度西孟加拉邦边境1200平方公里的红树林。2010年和2011年，澳大利亚水域的海洋热浪破坏了鲨鱼湾世界上最大的海草牧场的三分之一。实地研究表明，接下来的三年里被连根拔起的植物正在向大气中释放碳。

Fortunately, an older, man-made ecological⁹ disaster suggests that restoring damaged blue-carbon ecosystems is possible. During the Vietnam war, napalm and a cocktail¹⁰ of weaponised herbicides destroyed more than half of the mangroves in the Mekong delta¹¹. A report published in 2014 by the International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems showed that an intense post-war replanting programme was able to restore it within two decades.

幸运的是，一场更古早的人为生态灾难表明，受损的蓝碳生态系统的修复是可行的。越南战争期间，凝固汽油弹和武器化除草剂破坏了湄公河三角洲一半以上的红树林。国际红树林生态系统协会2014年发布的一份报告显示，战后大规模的重新种植计划能够在20年内恢复红树林。

And there is more to such ecosystems than simply acting¹² as sponges for greenhouse gasses. They also serve as buffers¹³ for vulnerable shorelines, shielding them from storms that barrel in from the high seas. One study of 59 subtropical countries estimated that by dampening waves and providing natural barriers to storm surges, mangrove forests prevent more than $65bn in property damage each year, and help shelter more than 15 million people. Protecting and expanding them, then, appears to be a no-brainer.

这样的生态系统不仅仅能够充当温室气体的海绵。它们还可以增强脆弱的海岸线，保护它们免受来自公海的风暴的侵袭。一项针对59个亚热带国家的研究估计，红树林通过抑制海浪和为风暴潮提供天然屏障，每年可防止超过650亿美元的财产损失并为1500多万人提供了庇护。因此，保护红树林、扩大红树林的面积是无需质疑的举措。

1 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

2 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

3 impede   

v.妨碍，阻碍，阻止

参考例句：

• One shouldn't impede other's progress.一个人不应该妨碍他人进步。
• The muddy roads impede our journey.我们的旅游被泥泞的道路阻挠了。

4 impervious   

adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的

参考例句：

• He was completely impervious to criticism.他对批评毫不在乎。
• This material is impervious to gases and liquids.气体和液体都透不过这种物质。

5 cyclone   

n.旋风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
• The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。

6 mangrove   

n.(植物)红树，红树林

参考例句：

• It is the world's largest tidal mangrove forest.它是世界上最大的红树林沼泽地。
• Many consider this the most beautiful mangrove forest in all Thailand.许多人认为这里是全泰国最美丽的红树林了。

7 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

8 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

10 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

11 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

12 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

13 buffers   

起缓冲作用的人（或物）( buffer的名词复数 )； 缓冲器； 减震器； 愚蠢老头

参考例句：

• To allocate and schedule the use of buffers. 分配和计划缓冲器的使用。
• Number of times the stream has paused due to insufficient stream buffers. 由于流缓冲区不足导致流程暂停的次数。