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Estimated carbon dioxide emissions from tropical deforestation improved by carbon-density maps

Nature Climate Change volume 2, pages 182–185 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

Deforestation contributes 6–17% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions to the atmosphere1. Large uncertainties in emission estimates arise from inadequate data on the carbon density of forests2 and the regional rates of deforestation. Consequently there is an urgent need for improved data sets that characterize the global distribution of aboveground biomass, especially in the tropics. Here we use multi-sensor satellite data to estimate aboveground live woody vegetation carbon density for pan-tropical ecosystems with unprecedented accuracy and spatial resolution. Results indicate that the total amount of carbon held in tropical woody vegetation is 228.7 Pg C, which is 21% higher than the amount reported in the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 (ref. 3). At the national level, Brazil and Indonesia contain 35% of the total carbon stored in tropical forests and produce the largest emissions from forest loss. Combining estimates of aboveground carbon stocks with regional deforestation rates4 we estimate the total net emission of carbon from tropical deforestation and land use to be 1.0 Pg C yr−1 over the period 2000–2010—based on the carbon bookkeeping model. These new data sets of aboveground carbon stocks will enable tropical nations to meet their emissions reporting requirements (that is, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Tier 3) with greater accuracy.

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Figure 1: Carbon contained in the aboveground live woody vegetation of tropical America, Africa and Asia (Australia excluded).
Figure 2: Comparison of national aboveground carbon stock estimates.
Figure 3: Annual net emissions of carbon from land-use change in the tropics.

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Acknowledgements

This work was made possible through the support of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Google.org, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. We thank all the collaborators involved in the field data campaign and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, National Forest Monitoring and Assessment for providing recent forest inventories. We also thank NASA and SPOT Image Planet Action for granting access to the satellite data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Woods Hole Research Center, 149 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, Massachusetts 02540, USA

    A. Baccini, S. J. Goetz, W. S. Walker, N. T. Laporte, M. Sun, J. Hackler, P. S. A. Beck, S. Samanta & R. A. Houghton

  2. Department of Geography and Environment, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA

    D. Sulla-Menashe & M. A. Friedl

  3. University of Maryland, 1149 Lefrak Hall, College Park, Maryland 20737, USA

    R. Dubayah

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  1. A. Baccini
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  12. R. A. Houghton
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Contributions

A.B., N.T.L., W.S.W., S.J.G. and R.A.H. designed the study. A.B., M.S., J.H. and D.S-M. conducted the analysis. A.B., R.D., S.S. and P.S.A.B. designed and conducted the error analysis. A.B., S.J.G., R.A.H., W.S.W. and M.A.F. wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to A. Baccini.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Baccini, A., Goetz, S., Walker, W. et al. Estimated carbon dioxide emissions from tropical deforestation improved by carbon-density maps. Nature Clim Change 2, 182–185 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1354

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