Key role of forests ‘may be lost’

Forests’ role as massive carbon sinks is “at risk of being lost entirely”, the BBC’s Mark Kinver has reported top forestry scientists as warning.
The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) says forests are under increasing degrees of stress as a result of climate change.
Forests could release vast amounts of carbon if temperatures rise 2.5C [...]

Amazon deforestation trend ‘on the increase’

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon forests has flipped from a decreasing to an increasing trend, ScienceDaily reports.
Commenting on the figures released by the country’s space agency INPE, Brazilian environment minister Carlos Minc confirmed that the government was set to announce forest related carbon emission reduction targets.
He added that he hoped that the scheme would link halting [...]

Canopy penetrating system boosts forest carbon monitoring

A tool for monitoring tropical deforestation has gotten a boost from the one of the world’s largest supporters of Amazon conservation, reports Mongabay.com.
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has awarded a $1.6m grant to the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology to expand and improve its tropical forest monitoring tool known as the Carnegie [...]

Prince calls for rainforest bills

Prince Charles has called for rich countries to pay an annual “utility bill” for the benefits given to the world by its rainforests, the BBC News website reports.
Speaking in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, the prince called rainforests the “world’s greatest public utility”.
They act as an air conditioner, store fresh water and provide work, he said.
The [...]

CO2 ‘delays autumnal leaf fall’

Increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is extending trees’ growing season, say scientists.
However, as reported in the blog Science Centric, the news had been welcomed by the forestry sector.
Writing in the journal Global Change Biology, Professor David Karnosky from Michigan Technological University, US, led an international team of researchers that suggested that the [...]

Saving forests is ‘cost-effective carbon cutter’

While afforestation is allowed under the Kyoto Protocol as a way to offset carbon emissions, avoiding deforestation is not, explains environmentalresearchweb.

The article by Lynn Dicks, a contributing editor for the website, reports that a study by a team of international researchers argue that leaving trees standing should feature in the UN’s global climate agreement.
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Statistic: Forest carbon storage

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has used the figure of 217 tonnes of carbon per hectare stored in forests.
But, says Australia’s North Coast Environment Council, this is a serious underestimate with older forests providing from 640-2000 tonnes of carbon stored per hectare.