A study suggests that about half of the global carbon uptake in regrowth forests, which are less than 140 years old, is exclusively due to shifts in average tree age caused by past disturbances, and that uptake in regrowing forests is concentrated in temperate rather than tropical forests; the authors further estimate that forests could accumulate an additional 69 Pg of carbon solely from demographic shifts if recent rates of forest loss and reestablishment persist.
Article #18-10512: "Role of forest regrowth in global carbon sink dynamics," by Thomas A.M. Pugh et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Thomas A. M. Pugh, University of Birmingham, UNITED KINGDOM; tel: +44-1214148306; e-mail: t.a.m.pugh@bham.ac.uk
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