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Preprint
Long-term commitment critical to reach forest restoration's climate mitigation potential in East Africa
Research Square, Vol.28 August 2024
Research Square Company
2024
Abstract
Forest restoration is gaining momentum as a natural climate solution to provide carbon dioxide removal while also addressing the biodiversity crisis. Globally, three primary restoration strategies—natural regeneration, assisted natural regeneration, and active restoration—have been adopted. However, inconsistent monitoring of forest dynamics mean large uncertainties remain over their long-term potential to enhance carbon (C) removal. We examined over 30 years of forest aboveground carbon (AGC) estimates from high-resolution lidar, Landsat imagery, and field data across East Africa. Our study shows that assisted natural regeneration and active restoration outperform natural regeneration in enhancing forest C removal capacity, with long-term implementation (over 9 years) needed to overcome the initial lags in AGC accumulation. Restoring 14.24 million hectares of suitable areas available in East Africa, representing 2.1% of suitable restoration areas globally, could enhance forest C removal by 2.85 ± 0.82 gigatons of C (Gt C) by 2050. However, less than one quarter of this potential would be achieved by 2030. This research advances our understanding of forest restoration’s potential for enhancing C removal and the time scale for meeting climate targets. We demonstrate that long-term commitments in implementation and investment are critical for restoring forests effectively for climate mitigation.
Details
- Title
- Long-term commitment critical to reach forest restoration's climate mitigation potential in East Africa
- Authors
- Mengyu Liang (Author) - Stanford UniversityDavid M Minor (Author) - University of Maryland, College ParkJulie Silva (Author) - University at Buffalo, State University of New YorkLola Fatoyinbo (Author) - Goddard Space Flight CenterNathan Thomas (Author) - Edge Hill UniversityWouter van Goor (Author) - Face the Future (Netherlands)Kars Riemer (Author) - Face the Future (Netherlands)Richard Kigenyi (Author) - Uganda Wildlife AuthorityRachel Cohen (Author) - WeForest (Belgium)Aklilu Negussie (Author) - WeForest (Belgium)Chen Jin (Author) - Georgetown UniversitySean Healey (Author) - US Forest ServiceSusan C Cook-Patton (Author) - US Forest ServiceSébastien Costedoat (Author) - Conservation InternationalRobert Heilmayr (Author) - University of California, Santa BarbaraRobin Chazdon (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests and People Research CentreMatthew Hansen (Author) - University of Maryland, College ParkRalph Dubayah (Author) - University of Maryland, College ParkMikhail Urbazaev (Author) - University of Maryland, College ParkEleanor Durrant (Author) - Newcastle UniversitySander de Haas (Author) - Justdigit (Netherlands)Laura Duncanson (Corresponding Author) - University of Maryland, College Park
- Publication details
- Research Square, Vol.28 August 2024
- Publisher
- Research Square Company
- Date published
- 2024
- DOI
- 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4908729/v1
- ISSN
- 2693-5015
- Copyright note
- This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License.
- Organisation Unit
- Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; Forest Research Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991064795102621
- Output Type
- Preprint
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