News & Events

March 16, 2023

Recovering forests regain a quarter of deforestation carbon losses

Research demonstrates the importance of conserving recovering forests along with protecting old-growth forest

• A new study published in Nature and led by Viola Heinrich from the University of Bristol and Exeter reveals that tropical forests recovering from deforestation and degradation only successfully combat a quarter of the current carbon emissions.
• In the Tropics, forests that are recovering from human disturbances remove 107 million tonnes of above-ground carbon every year.
• Per hectare, the greatest carbon reductions were found in Borneo compared to the Amazon and Central Africa.
• The findings demonstrate the important carbon value of conserving recovering forests along with protecting old-growth forests.
• The study was conducted by researchers working on the ESA-funded RECCAP-2 project uses satellite dat a from ESA’s Climate Change Initiative.

Read the full story at esa.int

Reference:

Heinrich, V.H.A., Vancutsem, C., Dalagnol, R. et al. The carbon sink of secondary and degraded humid tropical forests. Nature 615, 436–442 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05679-w