Authors
Viola Heinrich, Amelia Holcomb, Simon Besnard, Daniela Requena Suarez, Susan Cook-Patton, Clément Bourgoin, Robin Chazdon, David A Gibbs, Flavia Souza Mendes, Iain McNicol, Charlotte Wheeler, Celso H L Silva-Junior, Bienvenu H K Amani, Jean-Francois Bastin, Timothée Besisa Nguba, Na Chen, Huiying Chen, Philippe Ciais, Ricardo Dalagnol, Xu Dou, Quan Duan, Xueyuan Gao, Ava Nafiseh Goodarzi, Bruno Hérault, Jo House, David M Lapola, Mengyu Liang, Zekai Meng, Gert-Jan Nabuurs, Erin Poor, Luke Parsons, Johannes Reiche, Stephen Sitch, Ruben Valbuena, Anne-Juul Welsink, Serge Wiltshire, Chao Wu, Yidi Xu, Jinqi Zhao, Luiz Aragão, Martin Herold
Published in
Science advances. Volume 12. Issue 27. Pages eadz1923. Jul 03, 2026. Epub Jul 03, 2026.
Abstract
Aboveground carbon (AGC) fluxes from deforestation and subsequent regrowth in tropical moist forest (TMF) are increasingly well characterized, but carbon losses and gains following partial disturbance are uncertain. We synthesized 146 studies quantifying postdisturbance AGC changes relative to undisturbed forests across TMF. Immediate AGC losses (mean ± 1 SD; 2.5 ± 2.3 years after disturbance) following partial anthropogenic disturbances were greatest for forest fires (49 ± 26%), selective logging (34 ± 20%), and edge effects (31 ± 19%). Higher-frequency and -intensity disturbances significantly increased carbon loss. After 20 years of regeneration, AGC stock was higher in recovering degraded forests (41 to 117%) compared to secondary regrowth forests after complete deforestation (1 to 74%), indicating greater regeneration potential when forest structure is preserved. Our compiled database and associated meta-analysis improve accuracy and completeness for carbon inventory reporting and modeling. Substantial AGC losses and gains from distinct degradation and recovery processes are now better characterized, serving as an evidence base for policies to halt degradation and foster recovery for climate mitigation.
PMID:
42397928
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 04 Jul 2026.
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