Science – Wang et al. (2025): Land availability and policy commitments limit global climate mitigation from forestation
Yijie Wang, Yakun Zhu, Susan C. Cook-Patton, Wenjuan Sun, et al., IN: Science, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adj6841
Forestation (afforestation and reforestation) could mitigate climate change by sequestering carbon within biomass and soils. However, global mitigation from forestation remains uncertain owing to varying estimates of carbon sequestration rates (notably in soil) and land availability. In this study, the authors developed global maps of soil carbon change that reveal carbon gains and losses with forestation, primarily in the topsoil.