Tree-planting projects are sprouting up worldwide in an effort to sequester carbon. Acres of saplings are quick to plant but don’t necessarily have staying power: many die or are cut down before the trees grow to maturity. A recent study … Continue reading
Journal Club
Highlighting recent, timely papers selected by Academy member labs
Tag Archives: deforestation
Interdisciplinary study brings a humanist perspective to research on land use change
Decades ago, Brazil’s northeastern State of Bahia produced much of the world’s cocoa for chocolate. Most farms grew their cacao trees interspersed with other native trees, in dense agricultural forests. Children played at the forest edges. Today those children are … Continue reading
Categories: Agriculture | Journal Club | Social Sciences
Tagged agriculture, agro-forestry, cacao, cocoa, conservation, deforestation, farming, forests, land use change, monoculture, remote sensing
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Journal Club: Carbon payments could prove more profitable than mining or logging for some nations
Logging, mining, and other activities plow through the tropical forests of developing countries, releasing 10 to 18 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. One proposed solution is for wealthy countries to pay developing nations to keep … Continue reading
Categories: Climate science | Environmental Sciences | Journal Club | Sustainability Science
Tagged carbon offset, carbon payment, deforestation, Guyana, logging, mining, rainforest, REDD+
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Journal Club: How to measure the global potential for biomass vegetation
Plants play a big role in removing carbon from the atmosphere. Almost a quarter of carbon from car exhaust and industry gets absorbed by vegetation. That’s a significant amount. But a recent study suggests that amount has the potential to … Continue reading
Categories: Agriculture | Applied Biological Sciences | Climate science | Journal Club
Tagged deforestation, forest degradation, modeling
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New forests change land temperatures
Thirty years ago China began launching ambitious reforestation projects, aiming to undo some of the massive environmental damage caused by years of clear cutting. Each year the country adds around 2 million hectares of new trees, with no sign of … Continue reading