Tree cover increase mitigation strategy: implications of the “replacement approach” in carbon storage of a subtropical ecosystem

Manrique, Silvina Magdalena; Franco, Judith

doi:10.1007/s11027-020-09930-5

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 96 publications

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“…Though this sound extremely encouraging, Wang et al (2020) [66] also state that the afforestation effort: "… contributes to timber exports and the domestic production of paper …", which means that the carbon sequestration is only temporary because if these products are rapidly discarded, burnt, or composted, the sequestered carbon they represent will be returned to the atmosphere. Despite these gloomy observations regarding trees and other photosynthetic organisms, there remains some hope that better management of forests and their carbon stocks can help improve overall terrestrial carbon cycle management [67][68][69] although the fact remains that we cannot rely on terrestrial vegetation to mitigate the effects of climate change for the simple reason that such a prospect expects too much of them. Even when discussing CO2 absorbed and stored in coastal and oceanic ecosystems, most people tend to consider only kelp forests, mangroves, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes or tidal marshes as potential carbon sequestering ecosystems to which the title "blue carbon" can be attached, and tend to dismiss the potential of calcifying organisms.…”

Section: Biotechnology: Photosynthetic Organisms Are Not the Solutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planetary Bioengineering on Earth to Return and Maintain the Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide to Pre-Industrial Levels: Assessing Potential Mechanisms

Moore,

Heilweck,

Petros

2023

Prime Archives in Space Research

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Section: Biotechnology: Photosynthetic Organisms Are Not the Solutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planetary Bioengineering on Earth to Return and Maintain the Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide to Pre-Industrial Levels: Assessing Potential Mechanisms

Moore,

Heilweck,

Petros

2023

Prime Archives in Space Research

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“…Despite these gloomy observations regarding trees and other photosynthetic organisms, there remains some hope that better management of forests and their carbon stocks can help improve overall terrestrial carbon cycle management (Soudzilovskaia et al, 2019;Domeignoz-Horta et al, 2020;Manrique and Franco, 2020) although the fact remains that we cannot rely on terrestrial vegetation to mitigate the effects of climate change for the simple reason that such a prospect expects too much of them. Even when discussing CO 2 absorbed and stored in coastal and oceanic ecosystems, most people tend to consider only kelp forests, mangroves, seagrass meadows, and salt marshes or tidal marshes as potential carbon sequestering ecosystems to which the title "blue carbon" can be attached and tend to dismiss the potential of calcifying organisms.…”

Section: Biotechnology: Photosynthetic Organisms Are Not the Solutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planetary bioengineering on Earth to return and maintain the atmospheric carbon dioxide to pre-industrial levels: Assessing potential mechanisms

Moore

Heilweck²,

Petros

2022

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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We are all familiar with the episodes in the deep time history of Earth that enabled life to emerge in such abundance. Episodes like the formation of a Moon large enough and near enough to cause tides in the Earth’s waters and rocks, a core of sufficient iron with sufficient angular momentum to generate a protective magnetosphere around Earth, and assumption of a planetary axis angle that generates the ecological variation of our seasonal cycles. The living things that did arise on this planet have been modifying their habitats on Earth since they first appeared. Modifications that include the greening of Earth by photosynthetic organisms, which turned a predominantly reducing atmosphere into an oxidising one, the consequent precipitation of iron oxides into iron ore strata, and the formation of huge deposits of limestone by calcifying organisms. The episodes on which we wish to concentrate are 1) the frequent involvement of marine calcifiers (coccolithophores, foraminifera, molluscs, crustacea, corals, echinoderms), that have been described as ecosystem engineers modifying habitats in a generally positive way for other organisms, and 2) the frequent involvement of humans in changing the Earth’s biosphere in a generally negative way for other organisms. The fossil record shows that ancestral marine calcifiers had the physiology to cope with both acidified oceans and great excesses of atmospheric CO2 periodically throughout the past 500 million years, creating vast remains of shells as limestone strata in the process. So, our core belief is that humankind must look to the oceans for a solution to present-day climate change. The marine calcifiers of this planet have a track record of decisively modifying both oceans and atmospheres but take millions of years to do it. On the other hand, humanity works fast; in just a few thousand years we have driven scores of animals and plants to extinction, and in just a few hundred years we have so drastically modified our atmosphere that, arguably, we stand on the verge of extinction ourselves. Of all Earth’s ecosystems, those built around biological calcifiers, which all convert organic carbon into inorganic limestone, are the only ones that offer the prospect of permanent net removal of CO2 from our atmosphere. These are the carbon-removal biotechnologies we should be seeking to exploit.

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“…Furthermore, if trees are planted in former grassland areas, they might be more fire susceptible, which can result in carbon emissions through vegetation loss (Waring et al, 2020). If SRWPs replace native forests, they can result in carbon losses of up to 50% (Manrique & Franco, 2020). Therefore, the suitability of tree plantations as a climate change mitigation measure, especially of non-native, short rotation and/or mono-species is widely contested (Bond et al, 2019;Friedlingstein et al, 2019;Hua et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping ‘Life on Land’

Schulze

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In 2015, the 193 United Nations (UN) member states adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The mid-point of the SDG Agenda was reached in 2023 and while important progress has been made, the world is not on track to achieve the goals by 2030. Competing claims for land and resources by the different goals are among the reasons for the limited progress. SDG 15, the so-called ‘Life on Land’ goal aims to protect and manage ecosystems sustainably to preserve the diverse life forms and ensure that current and future generations can benefit from ecosystem services. This is often not integrated in the other SDGs. To find solutions that minimize trade-offs and exploit synergies between the SDGs, it is crucial to understand the (spatial) consequences of their implementation. Land system models can support this understanding by exploring different future pathways. When spatially-explicit, they can account for location-specific factors that determine the probable occurrence or disappearance of certain land systems. Knowledge on spatial distribution of land system patterns in the starting/baseline year is usually a requirement. With new remote sensing techniques, spatial data for many different land cover types are now available. Forest management, which plays a key role in SDG 15, is often ignored or simplified in global land system models and assessments, due to the lack of data. This thesis explores and provides methodological advancements that support gaining a better understanding of the spatial implications of achieving SDG 15. In chapter 2, provides a consistent, systematic approach to map different forest classes and uses - a stepping stone towards better mapping of forest management. Spatial understanding on how forests are managed has been lacking until now and the produced maps can be used in global change studies. The new knowledge on the spatial distribution of different forest classes and uses is applied in chapter 3, where I demonstrated how the newly developed data can be used in global biodiversity assessments. Here, the impact of accounting for different forest classes and uses on biodiversity assessments is explored. In the chapter, the changes in the spatial distribution of forest classes and uses are estimated, driven by projected future wood demands. The chapter explores the interaction between biodiversity loss, forest management and deforestation. In chapter 4, the spatial implications of the land degradation neutrality target, alongside demands for food, living space and resources are simulated in a case study in Turkey. While the results show that land degradation neutrality can be achieved, while still providing resources and housing for the national population, a large extent of afforestation would be required to achieve such a future. As chapter 4 highlights the importance of afforestation for restoration, chapter 5 analyses the spatial probability of short-rotation woody plantations, advancing on the methodological approaches of chapter 3 and 4. The impact of climate change on their future distribution is estimated, following three emission scenarios. The results show that especially in high emission scenarios, short-rotation woody plantations might become less suitable in many areas of the Pan-Tropics. Altogether, this thesis provides more nuanced spatial representation of different forest management characteristics and describes two major methodological advancements to better estimate the spatial implications of SDG 15. The research shows that different land management strategies can support achieving the targets of SDG 15. However, they often come with trade-offs for other targets and SDGs. Spatial knowledge is required to support better tree-planting, reforestation and restoration initiatives and avoid the downsides caused by tree-planting at the wrong locations. Global commitments that are implemented without considering the spatial realities can fail and could do more harm than good along the way.

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Tree cover increase mitigation strategy: implications of the “replacement approach” in carbon storage of a subtropical ecosystem

Cited by 7 publications

References 96 publications

Planetary Bioengineering on Earth to Return and Maintain the Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide to Pre-Industrial Levels: Assessing Potential Mechanisms

Planetary Bioengineering on Earth to Return and Maintain the Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide to Pre-Industrial Levels: Assessing Potential Mechanisms

Planetary bioengineering on Earth to return and maintain the atmospheric carbon dioxide to pre-industrial levels: Assessing potential mechanisms

Mapping ‘Life on Land’

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