A clearer picture of tropical carbon

 
Tropical forests, alongside boreal forests and wetlands, are prime ecosystems for storing carbon. Now, researchers have created a new high-resolution map of carbon storage in tropical forests that could play an important role in effective forest management.

Shades of russet, yellow and deep green between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn circle the globe, providing the clearest picture yet of the world’s above-ground tropical biomass – essentially, plants and trees. The data are mapped at a resolution four times greater than previous measurements in a 2011 study.

Researchers led by Alessandro Baccini at the non-profit Woods Hole Research Center gathered two years of laser satellite, or Lidar, data to develop the image. More than 300 field visits across Latin America, Africa and Asia were used to confirm and calibrate the Lidar data on carbon stocks before the final measurements were projected onto an interactive map.

Both the map and the data are available online, fulfilling the goal of allowing any institution, researcher, policy maker or student to use the information. For full details on the story and link to the study, check out the latest R&D Works Newsletter




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