CTrees’ Post

In 2020, 4 billion tons of live carbon were stored in Gabon’s forests. Managed forests in the country have a 20% higher carbon density on average than unmanaged forests. New research from CTrees shows the live carbon density in every hectare of forest in Gabon.

🌏 15 million trees discovered in Europe! 📌 A new study reveals over 1 billion tonnes of overlooked biomass in Europe, pointing to significant climate and carbon storage benefits. 🔧 Key Takeaways: 1️⃣ Biomass & Climate Potential: Satellite imagery and AI have identified over 15 million hectares of trees outside Europe's forests, equating to over 1 billion tonnes of additional biomass. 2️⃣ Accuracy with AI: Led by the University of Copenhagen, the research achieved a remarkable 92.4% accuracy in mapping tree cover, highlighting the potential of combining AI with satellite imagery. 3️⃣ Country Variances: While countries like the Netherlands, UK, and Ireland have significant tree cover outside forests, forest-rich nations like Finland have considerably less. This underlines the importance of such trees in biodiversity, microclimates, and more in countries with smaller forest resources. 4️⃣ Technological Advancements: Such detailed mappings were previously impossible. But now, advanced technology allows for more frequent, rapid, and precise monitoring, crucial for accurate carbon stock assessments. 💬 #questionforgroup: With this untapped biomass potential, how can European countries leverage these findings for sustainable energy and climate mitigation strategies? 🔖 #biomass #climatechange #sustainability #forestmanagement #forests #ai #carbonstorage #esg #netzero #carbon 📘 Dive deeper here: https://lnkd.in/gS9XrQg4

🌏 15 million trees discovered in Europe! 📌 A new study reveals over 1 billion tonnes of overlooked biomass in Europe, pointing to significant climate and carbon storage benefits. 🔧 Key Takeaways: 1️⃣ Biomass & Climate Potential: Satellite imagery and AI have identified over 15 million hectares of trees outside Europe's forests, equating to over 1 billion tonnes of additional biomass. 2️⃣ Accuracy with AI: Led by the University of Copenhagen, the research achieved a remarkable 92.4% accuracy in mapping tree cover, highlighting the potential of combining AI with satellite imagery. 3️⃣ Country Variances: While countries like the Netherlands, UK, and Ireland have significant tree cover outside forests, forest-rich nations like Finland have considerably less. This underlines the importance of such trees in biodiversity, microclimates, and more in countries with smaller forest resources. 4️⃣ Technological Advancements: Such detailed mappings were previously impossible. But now, advanced technology allows for more frequent, rapid, and precise monitoring, crucial for accurate carbon stock assessments. 💬 #questionforgroup: With this untapped biomass potential, how can European countries leverage these findings for sustainable energy and climate mitigation strategies? 🔖 #biomass #climatechange #sustainability #forestmanagement #forests #ai #carbonstorage #esg #netzero #carbon 📘 Dive deeper here: https://lnkd.in/g2js9evW

Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences Volume 129, Issue 3 e2023JG007441 Research Article Global Forest Plantations Mapping and Biomass Carbon Estimation Hongtao Xu, Bin He, Lanlan Guo, Xing Yan, Yelu Zeng, Wenping Yuan, Ziqian Zhong, Rui Tang, Yang Yang, Huiming Liu, Yaning Chen First published: 18 March 2024 Abstract Management of forest plantations is a natural based solution to the global-scale mitigation of climate change; however, the role of carbon sequestration remains poorly understood, and this is hampered by a lack of detailed distribution on the global forest plantations. For the first time, we generated a global spatial distribution for forest plantations (GSDFP) during 2015 at a spatial resolution of 250 m using hierarchical extraction based on a machine learning algorithm taking time series of MODIS and ALOS PALSAR imagery as the source data, and finally estimates the biomass carbon stored in forest plantations. The resultant map was validated using reference samples visually interpreted, as well as reference samples collected from previous studies, and inter-compared with statistical forest plantation area and regional forest plantation maps, and the GSDFP was found to accurately represent the spatial distribution of forest plantations around the globe. Globally, forest plantations account for 7.35% (360.22 × 104 km2) of the global forest area and are estimated to contribute 4.60% (12.85 Pg C) of global forest biomass carbon. The forest plantation map and biomass carbon stock estimates will assist forest management and provide a benchmark for the estimation of the forest plantation carbon sink. In recent decades, global reforestation and afforestation practices have aroused wide concern in the effectiveness of climate change mitigation. However, the lack of spatial explicit data on forest plantations is the vital limitation with respect to the corresponding biomass carbon stock estimates. In this study, we generated the global spatial distribution of forest plantations at a spatial resolution of 250 m, and further estimated the biomass carbon stock in forest plantations. We found that forest plantations contributed less biomass carbon stock to forests than their corresponding area. Our results can provide crucial scientific information for decisions on forest management and climate change mitigation. Key Points • A global distribution of forest plantations was created using machine learning, and the biomass carbon stock in forest plantations was estimated • The proportion of plantation area in the forest (360.22 × 104 km2, 7.35%) is higher than that of biomass carbon stocks (12.85 Pg C, 4.60%) • The forest plantations map and biomass carbon stock estimates will be beneficial for natural based solutions for climate mitigation #carbonneutrality #netzero #naturebasedsolutions #nbs #carbonnetzero https://lnkd.in/gpwAHH_5

NEWS: From tape measures to space lasers: Quantifying biomass of the world's tallest forests. "Ecosystem services provided by healthy #forests extend far beyond #carbonstorage capacity. Remaining primary (old-growth) forests are irreplaceably valuable both as #carbon storehouses and biological refugia. Forests' ability to regrow after disturbances enables them to regain ecological significance over time. Understanding the role of forests requires accurate quantification of biomass, approximately half of which is carbon. Technological advances and the urgency of the problem have motivated international efforts toward biomass mapping." https://lnkd.in/ewSNgdHn #climatechange #climatecrisis #environmentalscience

Response of the copepod community to interannual differences in sea-ice cover and water masses in the northern BARENTS Sea - Frontiers in Marine Science: The reduction of Arctic summer sea ice due to climate change can lead to increased primary production in parts of the BARENTS Sea if sufficient nutrients are available. Changes in the timing and magnitude of primary production may have cascading consequences for the zooplankton community and ultimately for higher trophic levels. In Arctic food webs, both small and large copepods are commonly present, but may have different life history strategies and hence different responses to environmental change. We investigated how contrasting summer sea-ice cover and water masses in the northern BARENTS Sea influenced the copepod community composition and secondary production of small and large copepods along a transect from 76°N to 83°N in August 2018 and August 2019. Bulk abundance, biomass, and secondary production of the total copepod community did not differ significantly between the two years. There were however significant spatial differences in the copepod community composition and production, with declining copepod abundance from Atlantic to Arctic waters and the highest copepod biomass and production on the BARENTS Sea shelf. The boreal Calanus finmarchicus showed higher abundance, biomass, and secondary production in the year with less sea-ice cover and at locations with a clear Atlantic water signal. Significant differences in the copepod community between areas in the two years could be attributed to interannual differences in sea-ice cover and Atlantic water inflow. Small copepods contributed more to secondary production in areas with no or little sea ice and their production was positively correlated to water temperature and ciliate abundance. Large copepods contributed more to secondary production in areas with extensive sea ice and their production was positively correlated with chlorophyll a concentration. Our results show how pelagic communities might function in a future ice-free BARENTS Sea, in which the main component of the communities are smaller copepods, and the secondary production they generate is available in energetically less resource-rich portions. https://lnkd.in/eEjTYGAY

Great findings in a recent paper led by Siyu Liu on "The overlooked contribution of #trees outside #forests to tree cover and woody biomass across #Europe" published in #ScienceAdvances. Using 3m resolution #PlanetScope nanosatellites images, the paper presents tree-level canopy cover, height, as well as above-ground biomass maps across Europe. This allows the assessment of how non-forest trees contribute to overall aboveground woody biomass across the continent, which is often not covered by countries' National Forest Inventories. Full paper: https://lnkd.in/d6q7apG2

NEW STUDY: Assessing impacts of a notorious invader (common carp Cyprinus carpio) on Australia's aquatic ecosystems: Coupling abundance-impact relationships with a spatial biomass model Fanson et al. undertake a nonlinear meta-analytic approach to describe biomass-impact relationships for eight impact metrics and then integrate these relationships with a recently published spatial carp biomass model for Australia in order to quantify the ecological impacts of the carp invasion on Australian aquatic ecosystems. The meta-analysis compiled 286 abundance (biomass)-impact estimates from 41 studies, revealing both linear and nonlinear relationships across impact metrics. Validation with out-of-sample carp removal experiments showed high prediction accuracy for most metrics, though the model consistently underestimated macrophyte recovery by 10 to 35%. The study's findings indicate that carp invasion in Australia has significantly reduced macrophytes (by a median of 36%) and macroinvertebrates (31%), while increasing nitrogen levels (2%), plankton biomass (7%), phosphorus (8%), and turbidity (63%). This demonstrates the profound alteration of Australia's aquatic environments by invasive carp. The study offers the first quantitative assessment of this impact and presents a valuable tool for guiding carp management decisions.

NEW STUDY: Contribution of offshore platforms and surrounding habitats to fish production in the Bass Strait, south-east Australia Birt et al. investigated the fish productivity associated with offshore oil and gas (O&G) platforms, focusing on one common fish species (butterfly perch - Caesioperca lepidoptera) and two commercial species (reef ocean perch - Helicolenus percoides; jackass morwong - Nemadactylus macropterus). The research is pertinent for informing decisions on whether to remove, partially remove, or retain these structures post-decommissioning. Using high-definition stereo-video imagery from a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), biomass and fish production were assessed around eight O&G platforms, their benthic surrounds, reference areas mirroring pre-installation conditions, and a natural 'reef' area. Results showed low biomass in the benthic surrounds of the platforms, reference locations, and the south-east reef, translating to negligible fish production for the studied species in these areas. In contrast, a total biomass of 2.85 tonnes was observed across the platforms, with an estimated total annual production of 1244 kg for the three species. Notably, about 79% of this production (984 kg/year) is considered "new" production directly attributable to the platforms. The study also found that the bottom 5 meters of the platforms, despite covering a small area, contained 41% of the total observed biomass and contributed to 46% of the total fish production. The production measures from these platforms are relatively high compared to other artificial reefs and habitats globally. The complete removal of these platforms could result in a decrease in fish biomass and productivity, including for various fishery species, in the immediate area. This highlights the significant role that O&G platforms may play in local marine ecosystems and has implications for decision-making processes regarding their future decommissioning. Birt, Matthew, et al. “Contribution of Offshore Platforms and Surrounding Habitats to Fish Production in the Bass Strait, South-East Australia.” Continental Shelf Research, no. 105209, Elsevier BV, Mar. 2024, pp. 105209–9, https://lnkd.in/gw4ZzSGc. Accessed 17 Mar. 2024.

Ever felt outweighed by life's burdens? Well, soon, even Earth might! Researchers of Weizmann Institute of Science predict human-made objects will crush the combined weight of all living things by the end of this decade. This staggering statistic isn't just a headline - it's a wake-up call. Today, the population of humans just crossed 8 billion and in terms of mass, presents only 0.01% of the current global biomass. Plants on the other hand make up 90% of the global biomass which equals approximately 900 Gt (gigatonnes). About half of the world’s current human-made anthropogenic mass is concrete, with aggregates such as gravel making up much of the rest. Bricks, asphalt, metals, plastic and other materials make up about 19% of the total. The researchers estimate that at the beginning of the 20th century, human-made items equalled 3% of total biomass, including all plants and animals. However, this has doubled every 20 years for the past 100 years. Today, humans produce more than 30 billion metric tons of new material each year. Plant biomass has declined by half since the dawn of agriculture 12000 years ago. By 2040, the total weight of human-made objects could hit 2.2 trillion tons- double that of all living biomass- should current production rates continue. By this time, we will have produced as much waste as from the last 100 years together. The research also mentions that these numbers include only those objects in use, not waste; if waste were added, anthropogenic mass surpassed biomass in 2013. Further, it does not take into account the billions of tons of Earth moved when mining coal or dredging. If this was considered, anthropogenic mass outweighed biomass in 1977. This study emphasises our harmful impact on the environment and the planet. The researchers say that this is further evidence that we have entered into a new geological age, the Anthropocene, where humanity’s impacts on the planet will be visible in sediments and rocks millions of years into the future. If our material consumption continues at its present rate, Earth’s anthropogenic mass will balloon to thrice the biomass in another two decades. At that point, we may just be forced to confront the possibility that there is nothing to fear but life itself. Ron Milo World Economic Forum #climateresearch #climateaction #researchpublication #thereisnoplanetb