New measurements show widespread forest loss has reversed the role of tropics as a carbon sink
A new, cutting-edge approach to measuring changes in aboveground forest carbon density has helped scientists determine that widespread deforestation, degradation and disturbance has caused tropical forests to now emit more carbon than they capture, countering their role as a net carbon "sink."
Previous measurements of forest carbon loss focused largely on areas subject to complete forest removal (deforestation). This is the first time, however, that scientists have been able to account for changes from subtle natural and human-caused losses (degradation and disturbance) such as small-scale tree removal and mortality while also measuring gains from forest growth.
The paper will be published online in the journal Science on Thursday, 28 September 2017.
The findings by a team of scientists at the Woods Hole Research Center and Boston University add new urgency to the critical need for aggressive global and national-scale efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet the climate goals of the Paris Agreement. Importantly, the study suggests there is a critical window of opportunity to reverse the trend in emissions by halting deforestation and degradation, and actively restoring forests to degraded lands.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-09-widespread-forest-loss-reversed-role.html#jCp
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Too many people using too many resources.
