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Tropical forests provide many ecosystem and climatic services. This Review provides a synthesis of the effects of tropical deforestation on climate and implications for agriculture, both in the tropics and worldwide.
Experts using integrated assessment models to analyse the effects of climate change policy, have recently engaged in model inter-comparison projects (MIPs) to generate conclusions robust to different models' specifications. This Review synthesises results from the most comprehensive MIP that focuses on the different possible outcomes of post-2020 climate negotiations, recently announced pledges and their relation to the 2°C target.
The authors of this Review argue that changes to carbonate dissolution in an acidifying ocean, which have been relatively overlooked, are potentially more important than calcification for the future accretion and survival of coral reef ecosystems.
The increased use of bioenergy is mired in a controversy over the environmental and social risks of escalating biomass production. Assessments of global biomass potential published over the past 20 years are reviewed, showing how different levels of deployment necessitate assumptions that could have far-reaching consequences for global agriculture, forestry and land use. Critical future challenges that can be addressed by the scientific community are also identified.
