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ArticleCarbon emissions and removals from forests: new estimates, 1990–2020 2021
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No results found.National, regional and global CO2 emissions and removals from forests were estimated for the period 1990–2020 using as input the country reports of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020. The new Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates, based on a simple carbon stock change approach, update published information on net emissions and removals from forests in relation to (a) net forest conversion and (b) forest land. Results show a significant reduction in global emissions from net forest conversion over the study period, from a mean of 4.3 in 1991–2000 to 2.9 Gt CO2 yr−1 in 2016–2020. At the same time, forest land was a significant carbon sink globally but decreased in strength over the study period, from −3.5 to −2.6 Gt CO2 yr−1. Combining net forest conversion with forest land, our estimates indicated that globally forests were a small net source of CO2 to the atmosphere on average during 1990–2020, with mean net emissions of 0.4 Gt CO2 yr−1. The exception was the brief period 2011–2015, when forest land removals counterbalanced emissions from net forest conversion, resulting in a global net sink of −0.7 Gt CO2 yr−1. Importantly, the new estimates allow for the first time in the literature the characterization of forest emissions and removals for the decade just concluded, 2011–2020, showing that in this period the net contribution of forests to the atmosphere was very small, i.e., a sink of less than −0.2 Gt CO2 yr−1 – an estimate not yet reported in the literature. This near-zero balance was nonetheless the result of large global fluxes of opposite sign, namely net forest conversion emissions of 3.1 Gt CO2 yr−1 counterbalanced by net removals on forest land of −3.3 Gt CO2 yr−1. Finally, we compared our estimates with data independently reported by countries to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change, indicating close agreement between FAO and country emissions and removals estimates. Data from this study are openly available via the Zenodo portal (Tubiello, 2020), with DOI https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3941973, as well as in the FAOSTAT (Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database) emissions database (FAO, 2021a). -
Book (stand-alone)FAO assessment of forests and carbon stocks, 1990-2015 2015
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No results found.Global estimates of forest emission trends show that total emissions have decreased by over 25 percent between the period 2001–2010 and the period 2011–2015. FAO data show that the decrease is due to a decline in deforestation rates globally. They also reveal that emissions from forest degradation, estimated for the first time, are increasing over time and represent one-quarter of total emissions. -
Book (stand-alone)Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015. How are the World's Forests Changing? Second edition 2016This publication is the latest in a series of reports by FAO, the first of which was published in 1948. It is a synthesis of key results from the 2015 Global Forest Resources Assessment which is conducted every five years. It summarizes findings and data sources and links to more detailed publications and online resources. Timing for this document is critical in that it is designed to be distributed and released at the World Forestry Congress on 8 September 2015. The Congress is co-organized by FAO and the Government of South Africa.
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