Global maps of twenty-first century forest carbon fluxes

Nancy L. Harris (), David A. Gibbs, Alessandro Baccini, Richard A. Birdsey, Sytze Bruin, Mary Farina, Lola Fatoyinbo, Matthew C. Hansen, Martin Herold, Richard A. Houghton, Peter V. Potapov, Daniela Requena Suarez, Rosa M. Roman-Cuesta, Sassan S. Saatchi, Christy M. Slay, Svetlana A. Turubanova and Alexandra Tyukavina
Additional contact information
Nancy L. Harris: World Resources Institute
David A. Gibbs: World Resources Institute
Alessandro Baccini: Woodwell Climate Research Center
Richard A. Birdsey: Woodwell Climate Research Center
Sytze Bruin: Wageningen University and Research
Mary Farina: Woodwell Climate Research Center
Lola Fatoyinbo: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Matthew C. Hansen: University of Maryland
Martin Herold: Wageningen University and Research
Richard A. Houghton: Woodwell Climate Research Center
Peter V. Potapov: University of Maryland
Daniela Requena Suarez: Wageningen University and Research
Rosa M. Roman-Cuesta: Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
Sassan S. Saatchi: California Institute of Technology
Christy M. Slay: University of Arkansas
Svetlana A. Turubanova: University of Maryland
Alexandra Tyukavina: University of Maryland

Nature Climate Change, 2021, vol. 11, issue 3, 234-240

Abstract: Abstract Managing forests for climate change mitigation requires action by diverse stakeholders undertaking different activities with overlapping objectives and spatial impacts. To date, several forest carbon monitoring systems have been developed for different regions using various data, methods and assumptions, making it difficult to evaluate mitigation performance consistently across scales. Here, we integrate ground and Earth observation data to map annual forest-related greenhouse gas emissions and removals globally at a spatial resolution of 30 m over the years 2001–2019. We estimate that global forests were a net carbon sink of −7.6 ± 49 GtCO2e yr−1, reflecting a balance between gross carbon removals (−15.6 ± 49 GtCO2e yr−1) and gross emissions from deforestation and other disturbances (8.1 ± 2.5 GtCO2e yr−1). The geospatial monitoring framework introduced here supports climate policy development by promoting alignment and transparency in setting priorities and tracking collective progress towards forest-specific climate mitigation goals with both local detail and global consistency.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41558-020-00976-6

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