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How do slash-and-burn methods used for oil palm plantations affect air quality?
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Palm
Wild acai palms (Euterpe oleracea) growing on Combu Island in Belem, state of Para in Brazil.
Slash-and-burn methods used to clear land for oil palm plantations significantly degrade air quality, particularly in Southeast Asia, where they are a major source of annual air pollution from smoke.12
When forests are burned to initiate permanent deforestation for these plantations, the carbon previously sequestered in the wood and biomass is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. This process not only contributes to global warming by increasing levels of greenhouse gases but also removes the trees that would otherwise continue to absorb carbon. The resulting smoke from these fires creates poor seasonal air quality, posing serious environmental and health challenges in the regions where these practices occur.12