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.

  • Feature
  • Published:

How trees and forests reduce risks from climate change

Nature Climate Change volume 11, pages 374–377 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

Across the globe, increasing tree cover is a popular solution to offset carbon emissions. Replenishing trees is only part of the answer, and scientists seek an increased role as part of a multi-layered policy approach.

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

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

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

Fig. 1

Morley Read / Alamy Stock Photo

Fig. 2: A 31-year-old rainforest that regenerated naturally on cleared land used briefly for pasture in the Peje Annex at La Selva Research Station in northeastern Costa Rica.

Robin Chazdon

References

  1. Dave, R. et al. Nature 570, 164 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Griscom, B. W. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 114, 11645–11650 (2017).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Jiang, M. et al. Nature 850, 227–231 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Bastin, J.-F. et al. Science 365, 76–79 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Cook-Patton, S. C. et al. Nature 585, 545–550 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Fargione, J. et al. Front. For. Glob. Change 4, 629198 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Chazdon, R. et al. Sci. Adv. 2, e1501639 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Domke, G. M. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 117, 24649–24651 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Zeng, Y. et al. Nat. Clim. Change 10, 842–844 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Erbaugh, J. T. et al. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 4, 1472–1476 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Journalist, Washington DC, USA

    Lisa Palmer

Authors
  1. Lisa Palmer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lisa Palmer.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Additional information

Lisa Palmer is a journalist and author of Hot, Hungry Planet: The Fight to Stop a Global Food Crisis in the Face of Climate Change (St. Martin’s Press, 2017), and the National Geographic Visiting Professor of Science Communication at the George Washington University in Washington DC.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Palmer, L. How trees and forests reduce risks from climate change. Nat. Clim. Chang. 11, 374–377 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01041-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01041-6

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