CO2 emissions from forest loss

Authors: Van der Werf, GR, DC Morton, RS DeFries, JGJ Olivier, PS Kasibhatla, RB Jackson, GJ Collatz, JT Randerson

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.

Media links:
Study finds vital peatlands neglected (Reuters UK 11/4/09)
Deforestation as Carbon Culprit Drops Relative to Fossil Fuel (Bloomberg.com 11/5/09)
CO2 from forest destruction overestimated - study (The Guardian 11/3/09)
Emissions from deforestation overestimated; 12% rather than 17% (mongabay.com 11/4/09)
For peat's sake: The world’s wetlands are big sources of greenhouse gases (The Economist 11/6/09)

ng09.pdf