By Roger Harrabin<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BBC environment analyst<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scientists are poised to deliver a stark condemnation of the\ndamage we are wreaking on the land surface of the planet.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We\nhave degraded soils, expanded deserts, felled forests, driven out wildlife, and\ndrained peatlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In\nthe process, we have turned the land from an asset that combats climate change\ninto a major source of carbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nscientists will say we must stop abusing the land if we hope to avoid\ncatastrophic climate heating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How can the land protect us from climate change?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Uncultivated\nland covered with vegetation protects us from overheating because the plants\nabsorb the warming gas CO2 from the air and fix it in the soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But\nthe scientists meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, will say the way we farm and\ngrow timber often actually increases emissions of carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n