Growing Forests

Climate, Carbon-Cycle Effects of Fossil-Fuel Use vs Deforestation Disturbances 0522

The World Has Been Losing 10 Soccer Fields of Tropical Forest Per Minute 0422

Tropical Trees’ Growth and CO2 Intake Hit by More Extreme Dry Seasons 0422

Amazon Rainforest Hurtles toward a Tipping Point, Can't Recover from Droughts, Logging 0322

Tipping Points Passed? (4) Forests and the Amazon - a Faltering Carbon Sink 0122

Brazil’s Cerrado Tracker Records 6-year Deforestation High 0122

Brazil’s Amazon Hit by Worst Deforestation since 2006 - 1121

How Your 401(k) Is Helping Destroy the Amazon Rainforest 1121

Regrowing Forests Offset Only 10% of Amazon Deforestation’s CO2 Emissions 0821

Cerrado Desertification - Savanna Could Collapse within 30 Years 0721

Bolsonaro’s 1,000 km Amazon Railway Will Cause Climate Chaos. We Must Stop It 0721

Planting Trees “Doesn't Make Any Sense" in Fight against Climate Change 0721 - Forests need to have a permanence of 100 years to be effective carbon stores.  They don’t, with wildfires, drought, etc.  Carbon sequestration underground is more durable.   Plant trees in a smart way, not a monoculture.  Etc.

A Climate “Solution” Actually Adds Millions of Tons of CO2 to the Atmosphere 0421 - semi-phantom forest offsets in California: use average tree carbon / sq meter nin a zone, buy land that’s above average and take credit for the difference

Large-Scale Deforesters Emboldened under Brazil’s Bolsonaro, Data Indicate 0421 - typical size of a newly deforested parcel grows , by a good bit, as enforcement is cut back and even disappears

Why Dead Trees Are ‘the Hottest Commodity on the Planet’ 0421 - Lumber prices tripled as pandemic’s stay-at-home workers want more DIY indoor space, but mountain pine bark beetles have decimated British Columbia forests, the prime home of lumber traditionally.

Huge Forest Accounting Problem Could Hamper World’s Push to Cut Emissions 0421 - Who gets credit for a forest preserved as an offset?  Buyer, seller, both or neither?  Many nations use different rules from independent evaluators.  Large-emitting nations with large forests wind up with phantom benefits unless rules are changed.

Paris Climate Agreement Overlooks Wood Pellet Loophole 0421 - In Europe, wood pellets are deemed carbon neutral.  However, it takes decades to recoup the carbon in new growth from trees that are felled.  If the replanted trees survive fire and other hazards.  Meanwhile, more carbon is in the air over the sooner years, when we most need to cut carbon in the air.

Tropical Forest Destruction Accelerated in 2020 - 0321

We’re Killing Those Tropical Trees We’re Counting On to Absorb CO2 - 0221

Trees That Live Fast, Die Young, and Mess with Climate Models 0121

Net, Land Absorbs Carbon Now, but It Could Emit It in Just a Few Decades 0121 - forests AND soils

2018-2020 Articles

Wave of Infrastructure Projects to Cause Widespread Deforestation in Coming Decades 1120

Shorter Lifespan of Faster-Growing Trees Will Add to Climate Crisis 0920

‘Zombie Fires’ in the Arctic Pump Out Carbon at Record Pace 0720

Planting Non-Native Trees Accelerates Carbon Release Back into the Atmosphere 0620

Planting New Forests ‘Can Do More Harm than Good' 0620

Asynchronous Carbon Sink Saturation in African and Amazonian Tropical Forests 0620

Mangrove Forests Won't Survive Expected Sea-Level Rise by 2050 if CO2 Emissions Aren't Reduced 0620

Amazon under Threat - Fires, Loggers and Now Virus 0520

Deforestation Boosts Brazil Greenhouse Gas Emissions, as Global Emissions Fall 0520

Forests Are Vanishing More Slowly, but Not Slowly Enough 0520

Why ‘Carbon-Cycle Feedbacks’ Could Drive Temperatures Even Higher 0420

Amazon Rainforest Reaches Point of No Return 0320

Tropical Forests Losing Their Ability to Absorb Carbon 0320

Early Deforestation Numbers for 2019 Reveal Trends in the Amazon 0220

Forest Loss Moves Swiftly, Once 50% Deforestation ‘Tipping Point’ Reached 0120

Wildfires Are Changing Canada's Boreal Forests 0120

Paris Accord ‘Impossible to Implement’ if Tropical Forest Loss Not Stopped 1219

Top Scientists Warn of an Amazon ‘Tipping Point’ 1219

Preserving Western Forests Is Crucial in Fight against Climate Change 1219

Climate Emissions from Tropical Forest Damage Underestimated by a Factor of 6 - 1019

In the Fight Against Climate Change, Not All Forests Are Equal 1019 - Old growth are best; read this to learn why.

What Happens When the Amazon Forest Disappears? 1019 - It becomes savanna, with frequent fires, cerrado trees

Alaska’s Tongass Forest Eats a Ton of Carbon, but Trump Aims to Cut It Down 1019 - Its 3 GT of carbon = 2 years’ US use

Why Keeping Mature Forests Intact Is Key to the Climate Fight 1019 - soil carbon, US Southeast pellets feed Europe power plants

‘It’s Really Close’ - How the Amazon Rainforest Could Self-Destruct 0819 - 20-25% deforestation would drive runaway dieback, fueld by ever less rainfall due to less forest.  19.3% is Brazil’s government’s estimate of deforestation.

If Carbon Offsets Require Forests to Stay Standing, What Happens When the Amazon Is on Fire? 0819

What Indigenous Rights Have to Do with Fighting Climate Change 0819

Charred Forests Not Growing Back as Expected in Pacific Northwest 0719

Amazon Rainforest on Fire 0719

Why Carbon Credits for Forest Preservation may Be Worse than Nothing 0519
    Many forest “offsets” may exist only on paper.  Or worse, existing “offset” forests may be cut down for farming.

Climate Change May Make trees Live Fast and Die Young 0519

Canada Forests Haven’t Absorbed Carbon than They Released since 2001 - 0519

Canada's Forests Actually Emit More Carbon than They Absorb 0219

Earth’s Ability to Take Up Carbon Could Decline after 2060 - 0119

Extreme Weather Events Could Worsen Climate Change 0119

Haiti May Lose All Primary Forest by 2035, Mass Extinction Underway 1118

Tropical Deforestation Now Emits More CO2 than the EU 1018

Scientists Say Halting Deforestation ‘Just as Urgent' as Reducing Emissions 1018

Soggier Forest Soils Thwart the Uptake of Climate-Warming Methane 0818

Grasslands May Be More Reliable Carbon Sinks than Forests in California 0718

2015-2017 Articles

Some Forests Are Not Growing Back after Wildfires, Research Finds 1217

Sweeping New Estimate of How Much Humans Have Transformed Earth 1217

Tropical Deforestation Is Getting Bigger 1117 - esp. in Indonesia & SE Asia, also S America outside Brazil

Why the Way We Manage the Carbon Bio-Flux Matters 1017

Record Amazon Fires Stun Scientists; Sign of Sick, Degraded Forests 1017

Why the Forest Carbon Sink Is Disappearing - Death by 1,000 Cuts 0917

World’s Tropical Forests Are Huge Carbon Emission Source 0917

Deforestation Has Double the Global Warming Effect as Previously Thought 0917

Brazilian Court Blocks Abolition of Vast Amazon Reserve 0817

What Indonesia Is Doing about Its Deadly Haze from Forest and Peatland Fires 0817

A Nebraska-Sized Area of Forest Disappeared in 2015 - 0717

Paying People to Not Cut Down Trees Pays Off, Study Finds 0717

War-Torn South Sudan at Grave Risk on Climate Change 0717

Deforestation Soars in Colombia, after FARC Rebels' Demobilization 0717

Europe's Contribution to Deforestation Set to Rise, despite Pledge to Halt It 0617

Deforestation in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest Rose Almost 60% in the Last Year 0617

Ending Land Clearing Would Compete with Renewables in Carbon Abatement 0517

The Strange Case of the Liana Vine and Its Role in Global Warming 0417

Amazon Jungle Faces Death Spiral of Drought and Deforestation, Warn Scientists 0317

Amazon Deforestation, Once Tamed, Comes Roaring Back 0217

Deforestation Rises with Incomes in Developing Economies 0117

We Are Destroying Rainforests So Quickly, They May Be Gone in 100 Years 0117

Humans Destroyed 7% of Earth’s Pristine Forest Landscapes Just since 2000 - 0117

Like U.S., Brazil Risks Falling Behind on Climate Change 1216

Amazon Rainforest Destruction Is Speeding Up, When Earth Can Least Afford It 1216

Deforestation Forces Up Brazil’s Carbon Emissions 1116

As Cities Warm, Trees Lose Some of Their Ability to Remove Carbon from the Air 1016

Indonesian Islamic Council Issues Fatwa on Forest Fires 0916

Alarming Number of Fires in the Brazilian Amazon 0916

Costa Rica’s Tapirs Have Surprising Link to Climate Change 0916 - Big frugivores spread seeds of largest tropical trees.

Drought Shut Down Amazon Carbon Sink 0716

California Redwoods Store More Carbon per Acre than Any Other Forests 0716

Dry Amazon Could See Record Fire Season 0616

Forest Fires Can Heat Up the Whole Planet 0616 - Northern (boreal) forest fires put carbon in the air not only from standing trees, but also from peat, while they thaw permafrost, for still more carbon emissions.

Norway Becomes 1st Nation to Ban Deforestation.  How Will That Work? 0616

Spike in Alaska Wildfires Is Worsening Global Warming 0616

Queensland's Mangrove Ecosystem Dying in Secret 0516

These Tiny Mangroves Hold Vast Stores of Carbon 0316

China's Success Regrowing Its Forests Has a Flip Side - Deforestation Elsewhere 0316

Satellite Data Suggests Forest Loss Is Accelerating 0316

Africa’s Forests ‘Threatened by Palm Oil Rush’ 0216

Rainforests May Store Less Carbon as Climate Changes 0216

Global Deforestation Is Decreasing.  Or Is It? 0116 - Contrast Indonesia (bad) with Brazil (mostly good).

Indonesia’s Fires Blamed for Potent Greenhouse Gases 0116

Eliminating Large Fruit-Eating Animals Wrecks Tropical Forest Carbon Storage 1215

After Errors, Congo Basin Forest Effort Restarts with New Scrutiny 1215

Destruction of Brazil's Amazon Forest Jumps 16% in 2015 - 1115

Forests Are Key to Climate 1115

Forest Dieback Could Undermine U.S. Plans to Cut CO2 Emissions 1115

Indonesian Fires Are Pouring Huge Amounts of Carbon into the Atmosphere 1015 - peat +.  CO2 > Germany's, Japan’s.

Alaskan Wildfires Could Make Global Warming Worse 1015.  Soils, permafrost too.

Rapid and Startling Decline of World’s Vast Boreal Forests 1015

Deforestation Halved over Past Decades 0915

Tree Loss Slows, but Covers Area Twice the Size of Portugal in 2014 - 0915

Earth Is on Track to Lose an India-Sized Chunk of Tropical Forests by 2050 - 0815

Massive Wildfires Transform Siberian Paradise (by Lake Baikal) into Disaster Area 0815

Drought Damages Trees' Ability to Store Carbon 0715

Hundreds of Millions of Acres of World's Forest Could be Lost by 2030 - 0415

World's Plants and Soils to Switch from Carbon Sink to Source by 2100 - 0415

Indonesia Defends Deforestation for Palm Oil on Economic Grounds 0315

Brazil’s Deforestation Rates Are on the Rise Again 0315

Amazon Forest Losing Carbon-Storing Capacity 0315

Amazon Droughts Make 'Earth’s Lungs' Emit More CO2 Than They Capture 0315

Tropical Forests May Be Vanishing Even Faster Than Previously Thought 0215 - satellite data vs national reports

Zimbabwe Forests Under Threat 0215

Scientists - No, We Can't Fight Climate Change by Burning Trees 0215

Western Amazon Oil Boom Covers Chile-Sized Bloc of Rainforest 0215

Southern Forests' Ability to Suck Carbon From the Air May Be Slowing 0215

Obama's Climate Plan Could Threaten U.S. Forests 0115

Tropical Forests May Inhaling 1/3 of Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions 0115

Subsidies to Deforesting Industries Worth 100 Times the Aid to Prevent It 0315

2014 Articles and earlier

Tropical Deforestation Could Disrupt Rainfall Globally 1214       - take #1 on study

Tropical Deforestation Threatens Global Food Production 1214 - take #2 on study

Tropical Rainforests Not Absorbing as Much Carbon as Expected 1214

Indonesia Cracks Down on Deforestation, in Symbolic U-Turn 1114

Global Meat Demand Plows Up Brazil's 'Underground Forest’ 1114

New Amazon Carbon Maps May Help Limit Deforestation 1114

Indonesia Surpasses Brazil in Deforestation Rate 0614

Rainforest Absorption of CO2 Becoming Erratic 0114

Urban Sprawl Threatens Water Quality, Land Conservation Gains 1213

Indonesia’s Forests Are Shrinking, Despite Reforms 1013

Dead Trees in Colder Areas Decay Only Slowly 0313

How Beijing Is Shaping the Amazon 0213

Deforestation Appears to Rise Again in Brazil 0113

Amazon Deforestation at Record Low 1112

Earth's Forest Carbon Sink Downsized 23% 1012

World Forest Area Still Declining 0812

We Can Reforest the Earth 0712  

Trees Absorb Less Carbon in Warming World Than Experts Have Assumed 0512 

Forest Change Risks Climate Goal 1211 

Forest Biofuel Production Will Raise Carbon Emissions 1011 

Drivers of Deforestation: Executive Summary 0611 - PDF

2nd 100-Year Amazon Drought in 5 Years Emitted More CO2 than China 0211  

Land Plant Carbon Uptake Reverses 0810 

Forest Loss Slows 0310 

Soybean Demand Attacks Amazon Rainforest 1209 

Climate Talks Near Deal to Save Forests 1209

Amazon Deforestation Rate Down 45% 1109

Amazon Forest Mostly Doomed 0809  

Amazon Forest Flips to Be a Carbon Source 0409  

Canada Forests Become Carbon Source 0409 

Forests Dying in Western US from Warming 0409 

Climate Change Could Shrink Amazon 85% 0309

US Forests Dying from Climate Change 0109 - WEB

Heat Turns Plants from Sinks to Sources 0908  

Warming to Cut Carbon Sink in Western US 1207  

2002 Drought Cut N America CO2 Sink 50% 1207

US Forest Fire CO2 Can Exceed Cars' 1207

Western Wildfires Impact on Carbon Balance 1207 - PDF, 33 pp

Drying Amazon Could Be Major Carbon Concern 1014

from US 2013 draft National Climate Assessment

N America Drought Cut CO2 Uptake - Peters 1207 - PDF

red is drier soil, blue is moister


"Net terrestrial summer flux (Net Ecosystem Production + fires for weeks 20-34) anomaly for the 2 extreme years of our estimate.  2002 has a strong positive summer flux anomaly, due to droughts.  In contrast, 2004 showed high uptake during the summer.  …1° x 1° [resolution].
    Units are grams of carbon per square meter per year."

     Note from graph of US Droughts by Severity on "No Water" page for 2000-13: the drought peaked in 2002 and wound down especially during 2004.

Section Map: Reversing Climate Change