the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Mapping global forest age from forest inventories, biomass and climate data
Sujan Koirala
Maurizio Santoro
Ulrich Weber
Jacob Nelson
Jonas Gütter
Bruno Herault
Justin Kassi
Anny N'Guessan
Christopher Neigh
Benjamin Poulter
Tao Zhang
Nuno Carvalhais
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Europe’s forests store vast amounts of carbon, but climate-driven disturbances are becoming more frequent. By combining satellite records with information on forest age and structure, we show that recent disturbances increasingly affect the oldest and most carbon-rich forests, particularly spruce forests in Central Europe. This emerging pattern puts long-accumulated carbon at risk and may reduce the long-term climate benefits provided by Europe’s forests.
Europe’s forests store vast amounts of carbon, but climate-driven disturbances are becoming more frequent. By combining satellite records with information on forest age and structure, we show that recent disturbances increasingly affect the oldest and most carbon-rich forests, particularly spruce forests in Central Europe. This emerging pattern puts long-accumulated carbon at risk and may reduce the long-term climate benefits provided by Europe’s forests.