TY - JOUR
T1 - The net carbon drawdown of small scale afforestation from satellite observations
AU - Montenegro, Alvaro
AU - Eby, Michael
AU - Mu, Qiaozhen
AU - Mulligan, Mark
AU - Weaver, Andrew J.
AU - Wiebe, Edward C.
AU - Zhao, Maosheng
PY - 2009/12
Y1 - 2009/12
N2 - Climate models indicate that warming due to increase in shortwave absorption from the lowering of albedo caused by afforestation reduces and can even overcome, particularly at high latitudes, the cooling caused by the carbon drawdown. We use high resolution (0.05 x 0.05 degrees to 1 x 1 degrees) global satellite observations to investigate the effects of afforestation. Results are markedly different from the coarser (similar to 2.5 x similar to 2.5 degrees) model-based studies. Between 40 degrees S and 60 degrees N afforestation always results in cooling Many of the areas with the highest net carbon drawdown (drawdown after albedo effects) are at high latitudes. There is large zonal variability in drawdown and latitude is not a good indicator of afforestation efficiency. The overall efficiency of afforestation, defined as the net carbon drawdown divided by the total drawdown, is about 50%. By only considering the total drawdown and not considering albedo effects, the Kyoto Protocol carbon accounting rules grossly overestimate the cooling caused by afforestation drawdown. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
AB - Climate models indicate that warming due to increase in shortwave absorption from the lowering of albedo caused by afforestation reduces and can even overcome, particularly at high latitudes, the cooling caused by the carbon drawdown. We use high resolution (0.05 x 0.05 degrees to 1 x 1 degrees) global satellite observations to investigate the effects of afforestation. Results are markedly different from the coarser (similar to 2.5 x similar to 2.5 degrees) model-based studies. Between 40 degrees S and 60 degrees N afforestation always results in cooling Many of the areas with the highest net carbon drawdown (drawdown after albedo effects) are at high latitudes. There is large zonal variability in drawdown and latitude is not a good indicator of afforestation efficiency. The overall efficiency of afforestation, defined as the net carbon drawdown divided by the total drawdown, is about 50%. By only considering the total drawdown and not considering albedo effects, the Kyoto Protocol carbon accounting rules grossly overestimate the cooling caused by afforestation drawdown. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
U2 - 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2009.08.005
DO - 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2009.08.005
M3 - Article
VL - 69
SP - 195
EP - 204
JO - GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
JF - GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
IS - 4
ER -
