Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

CO2 emissions from forest loss

Nature Geoscience volume 2, pages 737–738 (2009)Cite this article

A Correction to this article was published on 01 December 2009

This article has been updated

Deforestation is the second largest anthropogenic source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, after fossil fuel combustion. Following a budget reanalysis, the contribution from deforestation is revised downwards, but tropical peatlands emerge as a notable carbon dioxide source.

Programmes that aim to reduce the emissions from deforestation and forest degradation are being considered as a cost-effective way to mitigate anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions1. Deforestation and forest degradation contribute to atmospheric greenhouse-gas emissions through combustion of forest biomass and decomposition of remaining plant material and soil carbon. Within the science and policy communities, carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation have been estimated to account for about 20% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions2,3,4,5. A recalculation of this fraction using the same methods, but updated estimates on carbon emissions from both deforestation and fossil fuel combustion suggests that in 2008, the relative contribution of CO2 emissions from deforestation and forest degradation was substantially smaller, around 12%. As a consequence, the maximum carbon savings from reductions in forest decline are likely to be lower than expected.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (D&FD) and fossil fuel emissions for 1980 onwards.

Change history

  • 15 November 2009

    In the version of this Commentary originally published, in Fig. 1 the top solid brown line should have been a dashed brown line. This error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the text.

References

  1. Gullison, R. E. et al. Science 316, 985–986 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Denman, K. L. et al. in IPCC Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis (eds Solomon, S. et al.) 499–587 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Gibbs, H. K. & Herold, M. Env. Res. Lett. 2, 045021 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Schrope, M. Nat. Rep. Clim. Change 3, 101–103 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Available via http://tinyurl.com/kszq9t.

  6. Penman, J. et al. (eds) Good Practice Guide for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, 2003).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Page, S. E. et al. Nature 420, 61–65 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Hooijer, A. et al. Delft Hydraulics report Q3943 (WL/Delft Hydraulics, 2006).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Houghton, R. A. Tellus B 55, 378–390 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  10. DeFries, R. S. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 99, 14256–14261 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Grainger, A. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 105, 818–823 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Fearnside, P. M. & Laurance, W. F. Science 299 1015 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Canadell, J. G. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 104, 18866–18870 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Houghton, R. A. in TRENDS: A Compendium of Data on Global Change (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy, 2008); available at http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/landuse/houghton/houghton.html.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Hansen, M. C. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 105, 9439–9444 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Andres, R. J. et al. Tellus B 51, 759–765 (1999).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Joint Research Centre/Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research 4.0 (2009); available at http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu.

  18. Barker, T. et al. in IPCC Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change (eds Metz, B. et al.) 25–93 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Nabuurs, G. J. et al. in IPCC Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change (eds Metz, B. et al.) 541–584 (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Olivier, J. G. J. et al. Environ. Sci. 2, 81–99 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. van der Werf, G. R. et al. Atmos. Chem. Phys. 6, 3423–3441 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. van der Werf, G. R. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 105, 20350–20355 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Pacala, S. & Socolow, R. Science 305, 968–972 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Achard, F. et al. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 18, GB2008 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences,VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    G. R. van der Werf

  2. Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, Code 614.4, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, 20771, Maryland, USA

    D. C. Morton & G. J. Collatz

  3. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, 10th Floor Schermerhorn Extension, 1200 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, 10027, New York, USA

    R. S. DeFries

  4. Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, PO Box 303, 3720AH, Bilthoven, The Netherlands

    J. G. J. Olivier

  5. Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, 27708, North Carolina, USA

    P. S. Kasibhatla & R. B. Jackson

  6. Earth System Science Department, 3212 Croul Hall, University of California, Irvine, 92697, California, USA

    J. T. Randerson

Authors
  1. G. R. van der Werf
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. D. C. Morton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. R. S. DeFries
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. G. J. Olivier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. P. S. Kasibhatla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. R. B. Jackson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. G. J. Collatz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. J. T. Randerson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. R. van der Werf.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 247 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

van der Werf, G., Morton, D., DeFries, R. et al. CO2 emissions from forest loss. Nature Geosci 2, 737–738 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo671

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo671

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing