Mapping global forest regeneration–an untapped potential to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss
Forest regeneration can be a low-cost solution to mitigate climate change, and mapping its extent can support global goals such as the Bonn Challenge, which set a goal to put 350 million hectares of degraded forests and landscapes into restoration by 2030. Our study combined multiple remote sensing...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/accfaf |
| _version_ | 1797747402820550656 |
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| author | Pui-Yu Ling Naikoa Aguilar-Amuchastegui William Baldwin-Cantello Tim Rayden James Gordon Stuart Dainton April L Bagwill Pablo Pacheco |
| author_facet | Pui-Yu Ling Naikoa Aguilar-Amuchastegui William Baldwin-Cantello Tim Rayden James Gordon Stuart Dainton April L Bagwill Pablo Pacheco |
| author_sort | Pui-Yu Ling |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Forest regeneration can be a low-cost solution to mitigate climate change, and mapping its extent can support global goals such as the Bonn Challenge, which set a goal to put 350 million hectares of degraded forests and landscapes into restoration by 2030. Our study combined multiple remote sensing datasets and expert surveys, identifying $55.7 \pm 6.2$ million hectares of likely regenerated forests between 2000 and 2015 across areas that were not forested before 2000 and have remained forested from 2015 to 2018. The identified forest regeneration could potentially represent 22–25 billion young trees and a total biomass of about 3.2 billion tonnes. Forest regeneration took place in sites with less opportunity cost for agriculture for every country, but in more developed regions, forest regeneration took place in sites with higher suitability for cultivation. Expert feedback associated agricultural land use transitions and the establishment of protected areas, coupled with effective management and local support, as the key factors leading to successful forest regeneration. The results, publicly available, can facilitate discussions and help identify strategic locations to foster forest regeneration to achieve the global goals of mitigating climate change and restoring biodiversity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:50:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9355be217124437383e01981df996551 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:50:01Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-9355be217124437383e01981df9965512023-08-09T15:15:19ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262023-01-0118505402510.1088/1748-9326/accfafMapping global forest regeneration–an untapped potential to mitigate climate change and biodiversity lossPui-Yu Ling0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3540-609XNaikoa Aguilar-Amuchastegui1William Baldwin-Cantello2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3427-4379Tim Rayden3James Gordon4Stuart Dainton5April L Bagwill6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0046-1491Pablo Pacheco7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7192-6861World Wildlife Fund, United States , 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, United States of AmericaWorld Wildlife Fund, United States , 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, United States of AmericaWorld Wide Fund for Nature, United Kingdom, The Living Planet Centre , Rufford House, Brewery Road, Woking, Surrey GU21 4LL, United KingdomWildlife Conservation Society , 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460, United States of AmericaWorld Wide Fund for Nature, United Kingdom, The Living Planet Centre , Rufford House, Brewery Road, Woking, Surrey GU21 4LL, United KingdomWorld Wide Fund for Nature, United Kingdom, The Living Planet Centre , Rufford House, Brewery Road, Woking, Surrey GU21 4LL, United KingdomWildlife Conservation Society , 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460, United States of AmericaWorld Wildlife Fund, United States , 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, United States of AmericaForest regeneration can be a low-cost solution to mitigate climate change, and mapping its extent can support global goals such as the Bonn Challenge, which set a goal to put 350 million hectares of degraded forests and landscapes into restoration by 2030. Our study combined multiple remote sensing datasets and expert surveys, identifying $55.7 \pm 6.2$ million hectares of likely regenerated forests between 2000 and 2015 across areas that were not forested before 2000 and have remained forested from 2015 to 2018. The identified forest regeneration could potentially represent 22–25 billion young trees and a total biomass of about 3.2 billion tonnes. Forest regeneration took place in sites with less opportunity cost for agriculture for every country, but in more developed regions, forest regeneration took place in sites with higher suitability for cultivation. Expert feedback associated agricultural land use transitions and the establishment of protected areas, coupled with effective management and local support, as the key factors leading to successful forest regeneration. The results, publicly available, can facilitate discussions and help identify strategic locations to foster forest regeneration to achieve the global goals of mitigating climate change and restoring biodiversity.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/accfafforest regenerationremote sensingglobal forest restorationnature-based solutionsBonn Challenge |
| spellingShingle | Pui-Yu Ling Naikoa Aguilar-Amuchastegui William Baldwin-Cantello Tim Rayden James Gordon Stuart Dainton April L Bagwill Pablo Pacheco Mapping global forest regeneration–an untapped potential to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss Environmental Research Letters forest regeneration remote sensing global forest restoration nature-based solutions Bonn Challenge |
| title | Mapping global forest regeneration–an untapped potential to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss |
| title_full | Mapping global forest regeneration–an untapped potential to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss |
| title_fullStr | Mapping global forest regeneration–an untapped potential to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mapping global forest regeneration–an untapped potential to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss |
| title_short | Mapping global forest regeneration–an untapped potential to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss |
| title_sort | mapping global forest regeneration an untapped potential to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss |
| topic | forest regeneration remote sensing global forest restoration nature-based solutions Bonn Challenge |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/accfaf |
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