Tag: afforestation

Peer-reviewed Publications

du Toit et al. (2026): Deciduous afforestation as a natural climate solution: impacts on biomass and carbon sequestration in boreal forests of Canada

Francois du Toit, Nicholas C. Coops, Christopher Mulverhill and Aoife Toomey, IN: Carbon Balance and Management, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13021-025-00385-2

Rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns are expected to have profound impacts on the composition and condition of boreal forests. As a result there are growing needs for climate adaptation strategies in boreal forest management; one potential solution to achieve these goals is the utilization of nature-based climate-informed adaption solutions including afforestation using deciduous species which can help offset carbon emissions and sequester carbon at an increased rate. Deciduous afforestation has the potential to allow mangers to adapt fire-risk, while increasing carbon storage. Here, the authors investigated the impact of deciduous compared to coniferous afforestation on biomass accumulation in the Canadian boreal using a process-based model (3-PG). 3-PG utilises physiological principals to predict the growth of individual species across a variety of climate scenarios. This approach is valuable for projecting forest growth under changing climate, as it can account for plant responses to environmental factors which may not be captured by empirical models based on historical data. The authors simulated forest growth under three future climate scenarios to 2080, and compared the aboveground biomass (AGB, tons of Dry Matter per hectare; tDM ha−1) accumulated to baseline estimates using locally adapted coniferous species. In addition, the authors investigated the modelled effects of converting from conifer to deciduous species on stand level soil water and vapor pressure deficit responses to climate.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Buzacott et al. (2025): Afforestation-Related Fertilisation Quickly Turns Barren Cutaway Peatland Into a Carbon Dioxide Sink

Alexander J. V. Buzacott, Kari Laasasenaho, Risto Lauhanen, Kari Minkkinen, Paavo Ojanen, Gopal Adhikari, Liisa Jokelainen, Lassi Päkkilä, Hannu Marttila, Annalea Lohila, IN: Global Change Biology, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70644

Energy peat extraction has declined rapidly in Europe in recent years, leaving thousands of hectares of land requiring after-use management and planning. A popular after-use option, afforestation, is understudied and there is a limited understanding of its overall effect on greenhouse gas (GHG) and energy exchange. In this study, the authors present a multi-year record of eddy covariance fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO₂), energy fluxes and surface albedo, chamber measurements of methane (CH₄) and N₂O, and estimates of lateral carbon (C) losses from dissolved organic carbon (DOC) measurements from a cutaway peatland in Finland during the first 3 years of afforestation.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Li et al. (2025): Carbon sequestration and tourist land use dynamics: Understanding the effects of urbanization and afforestation

Siyu Li, Muhammad Haseeb, Zainab Tahir, Syed Amer Mahmood, Yahia Said, Nazih Y. Rebouh, Sajid Ullah & Aqil Tariq,IN: Scientific Reports, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-30124-z

Achieving net-zero emissions and combating climate change relies on effective carbon sequestration, with forests as critical carbon sinks. This study examines the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) changes on carbon sequestration from 1993 to 2023. LULC classification was performed using a supervised decision tree classifier on Landsat imagery (1993, 2003, 2013, 2023), and carbon storage was quantified using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) carbon model (v3.14.1), incorporating four carbon pools (aboveground, belowground, soil, and dead organic matter).

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Dsouza et al. (2025): Substantial carbon removal capacity of Taiga reforestation and afforestation at Canada’s boreal edge

Kevin Bradley Dsouza, Enoch Ofosu, Richard Boudreault, Juan Moreno-Cruz & Yuri Leonenko, IN: Communications Earth & Environment, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02822-z

Large-scale tree planting at Canada’s northern boreal forest edge offers potential for climate change mitigation, but this capacity is uncertain due to a lack of spatially explicit models. This study quantifies the carbon removal capacity of tree planting at the northwestern boreal edge using a carbon budget model and Monte Carlo estimates.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Nature – Peng et al. (2025): Newly established forests dominated global carbon sequestration change induced by land cover conversions

Dailiang Peng, Bing Zhang, Shijun Zheng, Weimin Ju, Jing M. Chen, Philippe Ciais, Huadong Guo, Yuhao Pan, Le Yu, Yidi Xu, Bin Zhao, Jón Atli Benediktsson, Alfredo R. Huete, Zhou Shi, Yueming Hu, Liangyun Liu, Fang Chen, Miaogen Shen, Lei Huang & Xiaoyang Zhang, IN: Nature Communications, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61956-y

Land cover conversions (LCC) have substantially reshaped terrestrial carbon dynamics, yet their net impact on carbon sequestration remains uncertain. Here, the authors use the remote sensing-driven BEPS model and high-resolution HILDA+ data to quantify LCC-induced changes in net ecosystem productivity (NEP) from 1981 to 2019.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Science – Liang et al. (2025): Climate mitigation potential for targeted forestation after considering climate change, fires, and albedo

Shijing Liang, Alan D. Ziegler, Peter B. Reich, Kai Zhu, Dashan Wang, Xin Jiang, Deliang Chen, Philippe Ciais and Zhenzhong Zeng IN: Science Advances, doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adn7915

The carbon sequestration potential of afforestation and reforestation remains uncertain in satellite-based assessments, particularly when accounting for dynamic climate conditions, vegetation-climate feedback, fire-dominated disturbance, and the trade-offs associated with surface albedo changes. Leveraging a coupled Earth system model, the authors estimated the global forestation mitigation during 2021–2100 under a sustainable shared socioeconomic pathway.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Yan et al. (2025): Afforestation boosted gross primary productivity of China: evidence from remote sensing

Wei Yan, Hesong Wang, Chao Jiang, Osbert Jianxin Sun, Jianmin Chu, Anzhi Zhang IN: Journal of Forestry Research, 36, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-025-01828-9

Over recent decades, China has launched a series of long-running and large-scale ambitious forestation projects. However, there is still a lack of year-to-year evaluation on the effects of afforestation on carbon sequestration. Satellite remote sensing provides continuous observations of vegetation dynamics and land use and land cover change, is becoming a practical tool to evaluate the changes of vegetation productivity driven by afforestation. Here, a spatially-explicit analysis was conducted by combining Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land cover and three up-to-date remote sensing gross primary productivity (GPP) datasets of China.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Upeksha et al. (2025): Costs and benefits of afforestation with renewable electricity-based desalination: Case study for Egypt

Upeksha Caldera, Andreas Mühlbauer, Mai ElSayed, Arman Aghahosseiini, Christian Breyer IN: Smart Energy, 17, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.segy.2025.100174

Aim of this research is to show how Egypt can make use of its plentiful renewable resources, available land area, and access to the sea, to establish cost-effective afforestation irrigated with renewable energy-based seawater desalination for land degradation mitigation.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Pongratz et al. (2024): The state of carbon dioxide removal through afforestation and reforestation

Julia Pongratz, Clemens Schwingshackl, Thomas Gasser, Andrea Castanho, Giacomo Grassi IN: Proceedings of the 11th International Carbon Dioxide Conference

Here the authors present new estimates of CDR by A/R based on multiple bookkeeping models (those also used in GCP’s 2023 global carbon budget). They compare these with estimates of A/R and forest management based on the NGHGIs after correcting for natural fluxes. CDR through A/R amounts to 1,860 MtCO2 (1,160-2,230 MtCO2; full range across models) per year globally, averaged over 2013-2022. CDR in managed forests based on NGHGIs is 2000 MtCO2 per year over the same period.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Egerer et al. (2024): How to measure the efficiency of bioenergy crops compared to forestation

Sabine Egerer, Stefanie Falk, Dorothea Mayer, Tobias Nützel, Wolfgang A. Obermeier, Julia Pongratz IN: Biogeosciences, 21, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5005-2024

In this study, the authors introduce different measures of efficiency to evaluate the carbon removal potential of afforestation and reforestation (AR) and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) under the low-emission scenario SSP1-2.6 and in the same area. They define efficiency as the potential to sequester carbon in the biosphere in a specific area or store carbon in geological reservoirs or woody products within a certain time. In addition to carbon capture and storage (CCS), they consider the effects of fossil fuel substitution (FFS) through the usage of bioenergy for energy production, which increases the efficiency through avoided CO2 emissions. These efficiency measures reflect perspectives regarding climate mitigation, carbon sequestration, land availability, spatiotemporal dynamics, and the technological progress in FFS and CCS. They use the land component JSBACH3.2 of the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM) to calculate the carbon sequestration potential in the biosphere using an updated representation of second-generation bioenergy plants such as Miscanthus.

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