Large carbon sink potential of secondary forests in the Brazilian Amazon to mitigate climate change

Author(s):Show less -

Heinrich, Viola H. A. ^[1] ; Dalagnol, Ricardo ^[2] ; Cassol, Henrique L. G. ^[2] ; Rosan, Thais M. ^[3] ; de Almeida, Catherine Torres ^[2] ; Silva Junior, Celso H. L. ^[2] ; Campanharo, Wesley A. ^[2] ; House, Joanna I. ^{[1, 4]} ; Sitch, Stephen ^[3] ; Hales, Tristram C. ^[5] ; Adami, Marcos ^[6] ; Anderson, Liana O. ^[7] ; Aragao, Luiz E. O. C. ^{[3, 2]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Bristol, Sch Geog Sci, Bristol, Avon - England

^[2] Natl Inst Space Res INPE, Earth Observat & Geoinformat Div, Sao Jose Dos Campos - Brazil

^[3] Univ Exeter, Coll Life & Environm Sci, Exeter, Devon - England

^[4] Univ Bristol, Cabot Inst, Bristol, Avon - England

^[5] Cardiff Univ, Sch Earth & Environm Sci, Cardiff - Wales

^[6] Natl Inst Space Res INPE, Amazon Reg Ctr, Belem, Para - Brazil

^[7] Natl Ctr Monitoring & Early Warning Nat Disaster, Sao Jose Dos Campos - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: NATURE COMMUNICATIONS; v. 12, n. 1 MAR 19 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 5

Abstract

Tropical secondary forests sequester carbon up to 20 times faster than old-growth forests. This rate does not capture spatial regrowth patterns due to environmental and disturbance drivers. Here we quantify the influence of such drivers on the rate and spatial patterns of regrowth in the Brazilian Amazon using satellite data. Carbon sequestration rates of young secondary forests (<20 years) in the west are similar to 60% higher (3.0 +/- 1.0 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1)) compared to those in the east (1.3 +/- 0.3 Mg C ha(-1) yr(-1)). Disturbances reduce regrowth rates by 8-55%. The 2017 secondary forest carbon stock, of 294 Tg C, could be 8% higher by avoiding fires and repeated deforestation. Maintaining the 2017 secondary forest area has the potential to accumulate similar to 19.0 Tg C yr(-1) until 2030, contributing similar to 5.5% to Brazil's 2030 net emissions reduction target. Implementing legal mechanisms to protect and expand secondary forests whilst supporting old-growth conservation is, therefore, key to realising their potential as a nature-based climate solution. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/21662-8 - Quantifying tree mortality with lasers: using a state-of-the-art model-data fusion approach to estimate biomass loss in tropical forests
• Grantee: Ricardo Dal'Agnol da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 18/14423-4 - Modeling a decade of carbon gross emissions from forest fires in the Amazon: Conciliating the bottom-up and top-down views of the problem
• Grantee: Henrique Luis Godinho Cassol
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 18/15001-6 - ARBOLES: a trait-based understanding of LATAM forest biodiversity and resilience
• Grantee: Luiz Eduardo Oliveira e Cruz de Aragão
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 16/02018-2 - Interannual variation of Amazon Basin greenhouse gas balances and their controls in a warming and increasingly variable climate – Carbam: the Amazon carbon balance long-term study
• Grantee: Luciana Vanni Gatti
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 19/05440-5 - Agri-environmental policy and agricultural fires in the Amazon: an economic analysis
• Grantee: Thiago Fonseca Morello Ramalho da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants