Question
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 a detrimental effect on the global climate. Which one of the following denotes that region?
Explanation
The Congo Basin hosts the Cuvette Centrale, the world’s largest tropical peatland complex (~145,000 sq km) across the Republic of the Congo and the DRC.
* Carbon Sink: Stores ~30 billion tonnes of carbon—roughly three years of global fossil fuel emissions.
* Climate Risk: Drainage or deforestation triggers rapid peat decomposition, releasing massive volumes of carbon dioxide.
Hence, Option (b) is the correct answer.
Other Basins
* Amazon Basin (South America): World’s largest tropical rainforest and drainage basin; holds massive living plant biomass, but far less concentrated soil peat than the Congo Basin.
* Rio de la Plata Basin (South America): Drained by Paraná, Paraguay, and Uruguay rivers; comprises the Pantanal wetlands, Gran Chaco, and Pampas grasslands, not tropical peat swamps.
* Murray-Darling Basin (Australia): Semi-arid agricultural heartland of southeast Australia; dominated by open scrublands and high evaporation, lacking peatland ecosystems.