Consistent cooling benefits of silvopasture in the tropics

Lucas R. Vargas Zeppetello, Susan C. Cook-Patton, Luke A. Parsons, Nicholas H. Wolff, Timm Kroeger, David S. Battisti, Joseph Bettles, June T. Spector, Arjun Balakumar and Yuta J. Masuda ()
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Lucas R. Vargas Zeppetello: University of Washington
Susan C. Cook-Patton: The Nature Conservancy
Luke A. Parsons: Duke University
Nicholas H. Wolff: The Nature Conservancy
Timm Kroeger: The Nature Conservancy
David S. Battisti: University of Washington
Joseph Bettles: University of California San Diego
June T. Spector: University of Washington
Arjun Balakumar: Stony Brook University Hospital
Yuta J. Masuda: The Nature Conservancy

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Agroforestry systems have the potential to sequester carbon and offer numerous benefits to rural communities, but their capacity to offer valuable cooling services has not been quantified on continental scales. Here, we find that trees in pasturelands (“silvopasture”) across Latin America and Africa can offer substantial cooling benefits. These cooling benefits increase linearly by −0.32 °C to −2.4 °C per 10 metric tons of woody carbon per hectare, and importantly do not depend on the spatial extent of the silvopasture systems. Thus, even smallholders can reap important cooling services from intensifying their silvopasture practices. We then map where realistic (but ambitious) silvopasture expansion could counteract a substantial fraction of the local projected warming in 2050 due to climate change. Our findings indicate where and to what extent silvopasture systems can counteract local temperature increases from global climate change and help vulnerable communities adapt to a warming world.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28388-4

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