Mapping global forest regeneration–an untapped potential to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss

Abstract

Forest regeneration can be a low-cost solution to mitigate climate change, and mapping its extent can support global goals such as the Bonn Challenge, which set a goal to put 350 million hectares of degraded forests and landscapes into restoration by 2030. Our study combined multiple remote sensing datasets and expert surveys, identifying $55.7 \pm 6.2$ million hectares of likely regenerated forests between 2000 and 2015 across areas that were not forested before 2000 and have remained forested from 2015 to 2018. The identified forest regeneration could potentially represent 22–25 billion young trees and a total biomass of about 3.2 billion tonnes. Forest regeneration took place in sites with less opportunity cost for agriculture for every country, but in more developed regions, forest regeneration took place in sites with higher suitability for cultivation. Expert feedback associated agricultural land use transitions and the establishment of protected areas, coupled with effective management and local support, as the key factors leading to successful forest regeneration. The results, publicly available, can facilitate discussions and help identify strategic locations to foster forest regeneration to achieve the global goals of mitigating climate change and restoring biodiversity.

Keywords

• forest regeneration
• remote sensing
• global forest restoration
• nature-based solutions
• Bonn Challenge