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. 2011 Aug 19;333(6045):988-93.
doi: 10.1126/science.1201609. Epub 2011 Jul 14.

A large and persistent carbon sink in the world's forests

Yude Pan  1 , Richard A Birdsey, Jingyun Fang, Richard Houghton, Pekka E Kauppi, Werner A Kurz, Oliver L Phillips, Anatoly Shvidenko, Simon L Lewis, Josep G Canadell, Philippe Ciais, Robert B Jackson, Stephen W Pacala, A David McGuire, Shilong Piao, Aapo Rautiainen, Stephen Sitch, Daniel Hayes
Affiliations

A large and persistent carbon sink in the world's forests

Yude Pan et al. Science. .

Abstract

The terrestrial carbon sink has been large in recent decades, but its size and location remain uncertain. Using forest inventory data and long-term ecosystem carbon studies, we estimate a total forest sink of 2.4 ± 0.4 petagrams of carbon per year (Pg C year(-1)) globally for 1990 to 2007. We also estimate a source of 1.3 ± 0.7 Pg C year(-1) from tropical land-use change, consisting of a gross tropical deforestation emission of 2.9 ± 0.5 Pg C year(-1) partially compensated by a carbon sink in tropical forest regrowth of 1.6 ± 0.5 Pg C year(-1). Together, the fluxes comprise a net global forest sink of 1.1 ± 0.8 Pg C year(-1), with tropical estimates having the largest uncertainties. Our total forest sink estimate is equivalent in magnitude to the terrestrial sink deduced from fossil fuel emissions and land-use change sources minus ocean and atmospheric sinks.

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