RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Pitfalls in estimating the global carbon removal via forest expansion – a comment on Bastin et al. (2019)
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 788026
DO 10.1101/788026
A1 Andreas Krause
A1 Almut Arneth
A1 Anita Bayer
A1 Allan Buras
A1 Thomas Knoke
A1 Christian Zang
A1 Anja Rammig
YR 2019
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/10/05/788026.abstract
AB We believe the carbon removal potential of 205 Gt C reported by Bastin et al. (2019) to be overestimated. The authors did not consider the carbon already stored on the land with identified tree restoration potential. For instance, grasslands and degraded forests have similar soil carbon stocks as old-growth forests. Accounting for these inconsistencies in the calculation, we estimate a carbon removal potential of 81 Gt C, i.e. only 39% of the Bastin et al. estimate. In addition, some of the assumptions about potential restoration area seem questionable and an essential question remains unanswered: why do areas identified as suitable for tree growth currently lack tree cover?