Not Just Carbon: Capturing All the Benefits of Forests for Stabilizing the Climate from Local to Global Scales

Seymour, Frances; Wolosin, Michael; Gray, Erin

doi:10.46830/wrirpt.19.00004

Cited by 10 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 146 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…GHGs to be considered include CO 2 , methane (CH 4 ), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes. Ideally, NCS mitigation estimates also incorporate biophysical factors that affect top-of-atmosphere radiative forcing, including black carbon deposited from particulate matter, changes in albedo resulting from changes in land cover, and changes in water vapor 66 . These first two non-GHG factors have the potential to significantly alter the net climate impact of NCS and thus shape where, when, and how NCS implementation occurs.…”

Section: Foundational Principle 4: Ncs Are Measurablementioning

confidence: 99%

The principles of natural climate solutions

Ellis,

Page,

Wood

et al. 2024

Nat Commun

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Natural climate solutions can mitigate climate change in the near-term, during a climate-critical window. Yet, persistent misunderstandings about what constitutes a natural climate solution generate unnecessary confusion and controversy, thereby delaying critical mitigation action. Based on a review of scientific literature and best practices, we distill five foundational principles of natural climate solutions (nature-based, sustainable, climate-additional, measurable, and equitable) and fifteen operational principles for practical implementation. By adhering to these principles, practitioners can activate effective and durable natural climate solutions, enabling the rapid and wide-scale adoption necessary to meaningfully contribute to climate change mitigation.

show abstract

Section: Foundational Principle 4: Ncs Are Measurablementioning

confidence: 99%

The principles of natural climate solutions

Ellis,

Page,

Wood

et al. 2024

Nat Commun

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…"De-prioritizing" boreal forest cover (Lawrence et al, 2022;Seymour et al, 2022;Windisch et al, 2021) would seriously reduce these carbon fluxes and latent heat production. Deforestation already represents a global problem for carbon emissions into the atmosphere (Friedlingstein et al, 2020;Houghton & Nassikas, 2017).…”

Section: Atitude Effec Ts On Surface Alb Edo and The L Atent He At Fluxmentioning

confidence: 99%

Even cooler insights: On the power of forests to (water the Earth and) cool the planet

Ellison,

Pokorný,

Wild

2024

Global Change Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Scientific innovation is overturning conventional paradigms of forest, water, and energy cycle interactions. This has implications for our understanding of the principal causal pathways by which tree, forest, and vegetation cover (TFVC) influence local and global warming/cooling. Many identify surface albedo and carbon sequestration as the principal causal pathways by which TFVC affects global warming/cooling. Moving toward the outer latitudes, in particular, where snow cover is more important, surface albedo effects are perceived to overpower carbon sequestration. By raising surface albedo, deforestation is thus predicted to lead to surface cooling, while increasing forest cover is assumed to result in warming. Observational data, however, generally support the opposite conclusion, suggesting surface albedo is poorly understood. Most accept that surface temperatures are influenced by the interplay of surface albedo, incoming shortwave (SW) radiation, and the partitioning of the remaining, post‐albedo, SW radiation into latent and sensible heat. However, the extent to which the avoidance of sensible heat formation is first and foremost mediated by the presence (absence) of water and TFVC is not well understood. TFVC both mediates the availability of water on the land surface and drives the potential for latent heat production (evapotranspiration, ET). While latent heat is more directly linked to local than global cooling/warming, it is driven by photosynthesis and carbon sequestration and powers additional cloud formation and top‐of‐cloud reflectivity, both of which drive global cooling. TFVC loss reduces water storage, precipitation recycling, and downwind rainfall potential, thus driving the reduction of both ET (latent heat) and cloud formation. By reducing latent heat, cloud formation, and precipitation, deforestation thus powers warming (sensible heat formation), which further diminishes TFVC growth (carbon sequestration). Large‐scale tree and forest restoration could, therefore, contribute significantly to both global and surface temperature cooling through the principal causal pathways of carbon sequestration and cloud formation.

show abstract

“…Safeguarding tropical forests, in particular, can deliver additional contributions to mitigation that extend far beyond carbon, as these ecosystems sustain a range of biophysical mechanisms, such as evapotranspiration, that cool Earth's surface and near-surface air (Lawrence et al 2022). By one estimate, accounting for this cooling effect from biophysical processes would increase the climate benefits of avoiding tropical deforestation by 50 percent, relative to the mitigation potential of reducing CO 2 emissions alone (Seymour et al 2022). Accordingly, virtually halting deforestation, peatland degradation, and mangrove loss can contribute the lion's share of land-based mitigation needed to limit warming to 1.5° C. Even when accounting for GHG emissions reductions, alone, these measures contribute more than half of the cost-effective mitigation potential available at up to $100/tCO 2 e from land-based activities across ecosystems (Figure 44) (Roe et al 2021).…”

Section: Protect Forests Peatlands and Mangrovesmentioning

confidence: 99%

State of Climate Action 2023

Boehm,

Jeffery,

Hecke

et al. 2023

WRIPUB

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The State of Climate Action 2023 provides the world’s most comprehensive roadmap of how to close the gap in climate action across sectors to limit global warming to 1.5°C. It finds that recent progress toward 1.5°C-aligned targets isn’t happening at the pace and scale necessary and highlights where action must urgently accelerate this decade to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, scale up carbon removal and increase climate finance.

show abstract

Not Just Carbon: Capturing All the Benefits of Forests for Stabilizing the Climate from Local to Global Scales

Cited by 10 publications

References 146 publications

The principles of natural climate solutions

The principles of natural climate solutions

Even cooler insights: On the power of forests to (water the Earth and) cool the planet

State of Climate Action 2023

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About