Geography
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Restoring tree cover changes albedo, which is the fraction of sunlight reflected from the Earth’s surface. In most locations, these changes in albedo offset or even negate the carbon removal benefits with the latter leading to global warming. Previous efforts to quantify the global climate mitigation benefit of restoring tree cover have not accounted robustly for albedo given a lack of spatially explicit data. Here we produce maps that show that carbon-only estimates may be up to 81% too high. While dryland and boreal settings have especially severe albedo offsets, it is possible to find places that provide net-positive climate mitigation benefits in all biomes. We further find that on-the-ground projects are concentrated in these more climate-positive locations, but that the majority still face at least a 20% albedo offset. Thus, strategically deploying restoration of tree cover for maximum climate benefit requires accounting for albedo change and we provide the tools to do so.
Publication Title
Nature Communications
Publication Date
12-2024
Volume
15
Issue
1
ISSN
2041-1723
DOI
10.1038/s41467-024-46577-1
Keywords
albedo, carbon, data set, forest cover, global climate, restoration ecology, tree
Repository Citation
Hasler, Natalia; Williams, Christopher A.; Denney, Vanessa Carrasco; Ellis, Peter W.; Shrestha, Surendra; Terasaki Hart, Drew E.; Wolff, Nicholas H.; Yeo, Samantha; Crowther, Thomas W.; Werden, Leland K.; and Cook-Patton, Susan, "Accounting for albedo change to identify climate-positive tree cover restoration" (2024). Geography. 973.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_geography/973
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright Conditions
Publisher source must be acknowledged with citation:
Hasler, N., Williams, C. A., Denney, V. C., Ellis, P. W., Shrestha, S., Terasaki Hart, D. E., ... & Cook-Patton, S. C. (2024). Accounting for albedo change to identify climate-positive tree cover restoration. Nature Communications, 15(1), 2275.
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