http://carnegiescience.edu/news/mapping_reveals_targets_preserving_tropical_carbon_stocks[font face=Serif][font size=5]Mapping reveals targets for preserving tropical carbon stocks[/font]
Monday, November 10, 2014
[font size=3]Washington, D.C.— A new high-resolution mapping strategy has revealed billions of tons of carbon in Peruvian forests that can be preserved as part of an effort to sequester carbon stocks in the fight against climate change. Tropical forests convert more carbon from the atmosphere into biomass than any other terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. However, when land is used for agriculture, as a wood source, or for mining, carbon is often released into the atmosphere where it contributes to climate change. Tropical deforestation and forest degradation account for about 10 percent of the world’s carbon emissions annually.
There remain major challenges to conserving the carbon that’s stored in these tropical landscapes on a national and international scale. A team led by Carnegie’s Greg Asner developed a new high-resolution approach for prioritizing carbon conservation efforts throughout tropical countries. Their findings are published the week of November 10 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The team of authors emphasized that the low cost of conducting their project means that the same approach can be rapidly implemented in any country, thereby supporting both national and international commitments to reduce and offset carbon emissions.
Many of the geographic details about the carbon that’s stored in tropical forest ecosystems remain unknown. In order for people involved in conservation efforts to select new areas in which carbon stocks can be best protected and enhanced, detailed information on which areas would make the best targets for protection are necessary. This means understanding each landscape’s climate, topography, geology, and hydrology.
Using advanced three-dimensional forest mapping data provided by the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO), integrated with satellite imaging data, the team was able to create a map of carbon density throughout the 128 million hectare (320 million acre) country of Peru, at a resolution of one hectare (2.5 acres).
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1419550111
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