To measure the impacts of reforestation on carbon sequestration in topsoils across the United States, researchers combined 15,000 soil observations from two national databases with remote sensing and geospatial information, and found that lands currently undergoing reforestation have increased topsoil carbon storage, and that these lands, which span more than 500,000 km2, are predicted to sequester 1.3-2.1 petagrams of carbon within a century; the carbon gains offset 1% of all US greenhouse gas emissions annually, according to the authors.
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Article #17-19685: "Reforestation can sequester two petagrams of carbon in US topsoils in a century," by Lucas E. Nave et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Lucas E. Nave, University of Michigan Biological Station, Pellston, MI; tel: 419-310-1203, 231-537-2307; e-mail: < lukenave@umich.edu >
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences