Schlagwort: afforestation

Peer-reviewed Publications

Sevekari et al. (2026): How do Carbon Dioxide Removal strategies deliver on justice? Insights from a review of afforestation and reforestation research – Preprint

Sevekari M, Brown C, Díaz-General E and Rounsevell M, IN: Research Square (Preprint), https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9575763/v1

While Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) and afforestation and reforestation (A/R) in particular have been advanced as mitigation actions which align with global sustainable development and wellbeing goals, however, justice remains under-represented in the policy and academic discourse on A/R impacts. In this paper, the authors review cases of A/R implementation across 37 different countries to understand their observed impacts.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Alikhanova et al. (2026): Greening drylands: The potential and limits of afforestation as a nature-based solution in the Aralkum Desert

Shahzoda Alikhanova, Alison Smith, Cristina Tarantino and Joseph William Bull, IN: Land Use Policy, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2026.108204

Dryland afforestation is increasingly deployed as a Nature-based Solution (NbS) for climate mitigation and ecosystem restoration, yet its long-term effectiveness remains uncertain because carbon gains may be offset by biophysical trade-offs and water limitations. Existing assessments rarely integrate carbon sequestration, surface albedo, and climate vulnerability, limiting understanding of how these processes interact to determine restoration outcomes. Here the authors present the first integrated assessment of large-scale afforestation in the South Aral Sea – a region whose near-complete desiccation may have shifted the area from a carbon sink toward a source of emissions. The authors evaluate the current carbon pool, surface albedo effects, and climate vulnerability to assess both the potential and inherent limits of dryland afforestation as an NbS.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Mengistu et al. (2026): Ethiopia’s green legacy initiative enhances carbon stock and carbon dioxide sequestration across diverse landscapes

Dejene K. Mengistu, Hailu Terefe, Basazen F. Lakew, Abiyou Tilahun and Bogale N. Hailemariam, IN: Scientific Reports, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-61968-8

Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative (GLI) is one of the world’s largest landscape restoration programs, yet its contribution to carbon sequestration across diverse land uses and agroecological zones remains poorly quantified. This study assessed the effects of GLI interventions on biomass accumulation, carbon storage (CS), and carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) sequestration across 21 districts representing major implementation regions of Ethiopia. A total of 8,209 plants belonging to 90 species and 42 families were measured across four land-use types and eight management practices. Aboveground biomass, carbon stock, and CO₂e sequestration were estimated using species-appropriate allometric equations.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Waring et al. (2026): Microbiome manipulation and enhanced weathering influence tree growth in reforestation

Bonnie G. Waring, Colin Averill, Martin Bidartondo, Laura M. Suz, David J. Beerling, Tom W. Crowther, Gregory Jones, Lena Lancastle, Dimitar Z. Epihov, Kat Clayton, Laura Gobelius, Oliver Lindsay, Brian Steidinger, Heather Allen & Charlots Nicholls, IN: Communications Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44458-026-00103-0

Limiting future warming invokes the need to maximize the natural carbon sequestration capacity of forests. Here the authors report on a large-scale (11.5 hectare) field trial testing co-deployment of two strategies to increase forest carbon capture: enhanced rock weathering via addition of crushed silicate rock, and modification of the soil microbiome. Individual monitoring of 6400 trees over four years revealed that silicate rock amendment augmented aboveground carbon stocks by 27% in broadleaf stands only.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Zhang et al. (2026): Natural forest expansion is a larger carbon sink than secondary forests in moist tropics

Yihang Zhang, Viola H. A. Heinrich, Clément Bourgoin, Xia Wang, Xiaodong Li, Yun Du and Peter M. Atkinson, IN: Nature Geoscience, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-026-01984-5

Tropical secondary forests grow back naturally after the original forest has been cleared, while degraded forests comprise regrowth within forested land that has experienced partial structural and functional loss. Both represent important carbon sinks. However, natural forest expansion into originally unforested land also occurs, and despite covering 6% more area than secondary forests in the moist tropics, its carbon sink remains unquantified. Here the authors quantify the above-ground carbon sink and analyse its drivers across natural forest expansion, secondary forest and degraded forest by combining satellite-derived tropical moist forest changes with spaceborne LiDAR-derived biomass.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Yu et al. (2026): Greenhouse gas budget and net carbon sequestration of different afforestation types of the “Grain for Green” Project

Tianren Yu, Fei Lu, Binbin Huang, Xiaobiao Zhang, Shishuai Yang, Bojie Li, Xiaoke Wang, Yafei Yuan, Lu Zhang, Zhiyun Ouyang, IN: Ecological Forestry, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecofro.2026.03.023

To examine spatial patterns and heterogeneities in greenhouse gas (GHG) sequestration, mitigation and emission of different afforestation types (i.e., ecological, economic, timber and firewood forest) in the “Grain for Green” project (GGP), the authors estimated the GHG budgets of 30 typical tree species in afforested areas, established a carbon accounting and net mitigation (CANM-GGP) assessment framework, and determined the net carbon sequestration and mitigation rates of the four afforestation types in the GGP.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Stephan et al. (2026): What do we know about the albedo effect of afforestation and reforestation? A systematic synthesis of the scientific literature

Leon Stephan, Ingrid Schulte and Sabine Fuss, IN: Environmental Research Letters, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ae608b

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) will play a crucial role in mitigating climate change and achieving net zero CO₂ emissions. As one technique of the CDR portfolio, afforestation and reforestation (A/R) is heavily relied on in both climate change mitigation scenarios and policy strategies. However, beyond CO₂ sequestration, A/R can have side effects that may affect its effectiveness in drawing global temperatures down, which is the ultimate aim of CDR. In their study, the authors focus on A/R’s impact on the Earth’s albedo. Here, they provide the first systematic overview of the albedo effect. They review and synthesize the existing evidence in the scientific literature and analyze patterns of the albedo effect.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Sheng et al. (2026): The forest carbon paradox: novel insights into China’s forest-economy-emissions relationships

Zhelin Sheng, Kaimei Zhang, Chen Ling, Wenjuan Shen, Zihan Zhang, Chuanxin Ma, Changlei Xia, Keyi Chen, Yu Shen, Yu Hao and Jiangang Han, IN: npj Climate Action, https://doi.org/10.1038/s44168-026-00350-w

Forest-climate-economy relationships present critical challenges for climate mitigation in rapidly developing economies. While forests are traditionally viewed as carbon sinks, their effectiveness as tradable carbon products remains difficult to quantify in the near term due to time lags and scale mismatch with energy-driven emissions dynamics. This study examines these relationships in China using data from 30 provinces (from 2000 to 2019). Using LSTM-MLP hybrid models and multispatial Convergent Cross Mapping, the authors reveal what they term the “forest carbon paradox”: despite China’s extensive afforestation efforts increasing forest coverage significantly, these initiatives demonstrate limited immediate impact on CO₂ emissions and GDP trajectories.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Huang et al. (2026): Regulation of Water-Soluble Salt Ions by Plantations to Enhance Carbon Sequestration in Coastal Saline-Alkali Soils

Kaiwen Huang, Jiajun Ou, Wenyi Zhou, Rui Tan, Xin Liu, Ke Huang, Jinling Wang, Jie Lin, IN: Land Degradation & Development, https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70501

Soil carbon stability is critical for global carbon balance and ecosystem sustainability. Coastal saline-alkali lands have great potential for carbon sequestration, yet the mechanisms by which water-soluble salt ions regulate soil carbon dynamics remain unclear. To elucidate this relationship, this study systematically evaluated the co-variations among water-soluble salt ion distribution, soil chemical properties, and carbon fractions within the 0–100 cm soil profile under different plantation types (Taxodium hybrid “Zhongshanshan”, Carya cathayensis, and Ulmus parvifolia) in coastal saline-alkali land. The objective was to reveal the regulatory mechanisms of salt ions on soil carbon processes.

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Peer-reviewed Publications

Noor et al. (2026): Human-induced biospheric carbon sink: Impact from the Taklamakan Afforestation Project

Salma Noor, Xun Jiang, Xinyue Wang, Jiani Yang, Sally Newman, King-Fai Li, Liming Li, Le Yu, Xiyu Li and Yuk L Yung, IN: PubMed, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41557807/

The Taklamakan Desert, one of the world’s largest and driest deserts, has traditionally been considered a biological void. Here, the authors demonstrate that large-scale ecological restoration is transforming this hyperarid environment into a carbon sink.

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