Timber companies are more likely to use plantation forestry—clear-cutting and replanting trees close together. Leveraging a unique lidar dataset, the authors created 3D maps of forest before five wildfires burned 1.1 million acres. During extreme weather, the number of trees per acre was the strongest predictor of high-severity fire. Thinning trees would reduce risk, even in the face of accelerating climate change.

A new study led by researchers at the National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan Agency for Marine-Earthe Science and Technology and The University of Tokyo published in Communications Earth & Environment, analyzed long-term projections from state-of-the-art Earth System Models and identified large-scale atmospheric circulation and ecosystem changes that lead to the degradation of the Amazon rainforest. The research reveals that if no efforts are made to stop climate change, the dieback of the Amazon rainforest may start within the 21st century.

A research team led by Prof. YANG Yuanhe from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has shown how microbes can stabilize soil carbon and potentially weaken the climate risk.

A new global analysis reveals a critical oversight in sustainable coffee and carbon-capture initiatives. These programs incentivize the planting of new trees yet fail to reward the preservation of mature shade trees in existing agroforestry farms, despite their far greater carbon storage potential. To maximize the potential of coffee farming to fight climate change and boost biodiversity, the study authors call for creating carbon payment programs that reward protecting existing shade trees and ensuring these payments are accessible to small farms. For tree-planting efforts, researchers recommend explicitly prioritizing tree diversity in all planting initiatives to support biodiversity. Without these changes, global coffee agriculture may continue to lose carbon and biodiversity despite investments in tree planting.