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      The global potential for increased storage of carbon on land

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          Significance

          Despite increased interest in land-based carbon storage as a climate solution, there are physical limits on how much additional carbon can be incorporated into terrestrial ecosystems. To effectively determine where and how to act, jurisdictions need robust data illustrating the magnitude and distribution of opportunities to increase carbon storage, as well as information on the actions available to achieve that storage. Here, we provide globally consistent maps for directing additional carbon storage under current and future climate, as well as a framework for determining how that storage could be gained through restoration, improved management, or maintenance of woody biomass and soil organic matter. Our estimates provide an upper bound on how improved land stewardship can mitigate the climate crisis.

          Abstract

          Constraining the climate crisis requires urgent action to reduce anthropogenic emissions while simultaneously removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Improved information about the maximum magnitude and spatial distribution of opportunities for additional land-based removals of CO 2 is needed to guide on-the-ground decision-making about where to implement climate change mitigation strategies. Here, we present a globally consistent spatial dataset (approximately 500-m resolution) of current, potential, and unrealized potential carbon storage in woody plant biomass and soil organic matter. We also provide a framework for prioritizing actions related to the restoration, management, and maintenance of woody carbon stocks and associated soils. By comparing current to potential carbon storage, while excluding areas critical to food production and human habitation, we find 287 petagrams (PgC) of unrealized potential storage opportunity, of which 78% (224 PgC) is in biomass and 22% (63 PgC) is in soil. Improved management of existing forests may offer nearly three-fourths (206 PgC) of the total unrealized potential, with the majority (71%) concentrated in tropical ecosystems. However, climate change is a source of considerable uncertainty. While additional research is needed to understand the impact of natural disturbances and biophysical feedbacks, we project that the potential for additional carbon storage in woody biomass will increase (+17%) by 2050 despite projected decreases (−12%) in the tropics. Our results establish an absolute reference point and conceptual framework for national and jurisdictional prioritization of locations and actions to increase land-based carbon storage.

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          High-resolution global maps of 21st-century forest cover change.

          Quantification of global forest change has been lacking despite the recognized importance of forest ecosystem services. In this study, Earth observation satellite data were used to map global forest loss (2.3 million square kilometers) and gain (0.8 million square kilometers) from 2000 to 2012 at a spatial resolution of 30 meters. The tropics were the only climate domain to exhibit a trend, with forest loss increasing by 2101 square kilometers per year. Brazil's well-documented reduction in deforestation was offset by increasing forest loss in Indonesia, Malaysia, Paraguay, Bolivia, Zambia, Angola, and elsewhere. Intensive forestry practiced within subtropical forests resulted in the highest rates of forest change globally. Boreal forest loss due largely to fire and forestry was second to that in the tropics in absolute and proportional terms. These results depict a globally consistent and locally relevant record of forest change.
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            Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global land areas

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              The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission

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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
                Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
                pnas
                pnas
                Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
                National Academy of Sciences
                0027-8424
                1091-6490
                31 May 2022
                7 June 2022
                31 May 2022
                : 119
                : 23
                : e2111312119
                Affiliations
                [1] aWoodwell Climate Research Center , Falmouth, MA 02540;
                [2] bThe Nature Conservancy , Arlington, VA 22203;
                [3] cDepartment of Earth & Environment, Boston University , Boston, MA 02215;
                [4] dDepartment of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder , Boulder, CO 80309;
                [5] eConservation International , Arlington, VA 22202
                Author notes
                1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: wwalker@ 123456woodwellclimate.org .

                Edited by B. Turner, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ; received August 4, 2021; accepted March 21, 2022

                Author contributions: W.S.W., A.B., J.S., R.A.H., and B.W.G. conceived of and initiated the project; W.S.W., S.C.C.-P., A.B., P.W.E., J.S., R.A.H., S.M.L., and B.W.G. designed research; W.S.W., S.R.G., A.B., M.K.F., and K.K.S. performed research; W.S.W. and S.R.G. analyzed data; and W.S.W., S.R.G., S.C.C.-P., P.W.E., J.S., R.A.H., C.R.S., and B.W.G. wrote the paper.

                Author information
                https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9112-1139
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9186-1767
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7194-4397
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3298-7028
                https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8496-7213
                Article
                202111312
                10.1073/pnas.2111312119
                9191349
                35639697
                a8c6508e-e317-4276-8d4b-379efe7cd9ab
                Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

                This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND).

                History
                : 21 March 2022
                Page count
                Pages: 12
                Funding
                Funded by: Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) 100000862
                Award ID: TBD
                Award Recipient : Wayne S. Walker Award Recipient : Seth R Gorelik Award Recipient : Susan C Cook-Patton Award Recipient : Alessandro Baccini Award Recipient : Mary K. Farina Award Recipient : Kylen K. Solvik Award Recipient : Peter W. Ellis Award Recipient : Jon Sanderman Award Recipient : Richard A Houghton Award Recipient : Sara M Leavitt Award Recipient : Bronson W Griscom
                Funded by: Blue Moon Fund/Cassiopeia Foundation
                Award ID: TBD
                Award Recipient : Wayne S. Walker Award Recipient : Seth R Gorelik Award Recipient : Susan C Cook-Patton Award Recipient : Alessandro Baccini Award Recipient : Mary K. Farina Award Recipient : Kylen K. Solvik Award Recipient : Jon Sanderman
                Funded by: Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation
                Award ID: TBD
                Award Recipient : Wayne S. Walker Award Recipient : Seth R Gorelik Award Recipient : Susan C Cook-Patton Award Recipient : Alessandro Baccini Award Recipient : Mary K. Farina Award Recipient : Kylen K. Solvik Award Recipient : Jon Sanderman
                Funded by: Bezos Earth Fund
                Award ID: TBD
                Award Recipient : Wayne S. Walker Award Recipient : Seth R Gorelik Award Recipient : Susan C Cook-Patton Award Recipient : Alessandro Baccini Award Recipient : Mary K. Farina Award Recipient : Kylen K. Solvik Award Recipient : Jon Sanderman
                Categories
                9
                9
                Physical Sciences
                Sustainability Science
                Social Sciences
                Sustainability Science

                natural climate solutions,negative emissions,forest maintenance,improved forest management,forest restoration

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