Pan, Y., Birdsey, R.A., Phillips, O.L. orcid.org/0000-0002-8993-6168 et al. (14 more authors) (2024) The enduring world forest carbon sink. Nature, 631. pp. 563-569. ISSN 0028-0836
Abstract
The uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) by terrestrial ecosystems is critical for moderating climate change1. To provide a ground-based long-term assessment of the contribution of forests to terrestrial CO2 uptake, we synthesized in situ forest data from boreal, temperate and tropical biomes spanning three decades. We found that the carbon sink in global forests was steady, at 3.6 ± 0.4 Pg C yr−1 in the 1990s and 2000s, and 3.5 ± 0.4 Pg C yr−1 in the 2010s. Despite this global stability, our analysis revealed some major biome-level changes. Carbon sinks have increased in temperate (+30 ± 5%) and tropical regrowth (+29 ± 8%) forests owing to increases in forest area, but they decreased in boreal (−36 ± 6%) and tropical intact (−31 ± 7%) forests, as a result of intensified disturbances and losses in intact forest area, respectively. Mass-balance studies indicate that the global land carbon sink has increased2, implying an increase in the non-forest-land carbon sink. The global forest sink is equivalent to almost half of fossil-fuel emissions (7.8 ± 0.4 Pg C yr−1 in 1990–2019). However, two-thirds of the benefit from the sink has been negated by tropical deforestation (2.2 ± 0.5 Pg C yr−1 in 1990–2019). Although the global forest sink has endured undiminished for three decades, despite regional variations, it could be weakened by ageing forests, continuing deforestation and further intensification of disturbance regimes1. To protect the carbon sink, land management policies are needed to limit deforestation, promote forest restoration and improve timber-harvesting practices1,3.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply 2024. This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use (https://www.springernature.com/gp/open-research/policies/accepted-manuscript-terms), but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07602-x. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Geography (Leeds) > Ecology & Global Change (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 04 Jun 2024 09:49 |
Last Modified: | 17 Jan 2025 01:13 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Research |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41586-024-07602-x |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:213098 |
Commentary/Response Threads
- Pan, Y., Birdsey, R.A., Phillips, O.L., Houghton, R.A., Fang, J., Kauppi, P.E., Keith, H., Kurz, W.A., Ito, A., Lewis, S.L., Nabuurs, G-J, Shvidenko, A., Hashimoto, S., Lerink, B., Schepaschenko, D., Castanho, A. and Murdiyarso, D. The enduring world forest carbon sink. (deposited 04 Jun 2024 09:49) [Currently Displayed]