In this hybrid event, Jim Tucker from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) presented findings from the Nature article Sub-continental-scale carbon stocks of individual trees in African drylands.
As outlined in the article, the distribution of dryland trees and their density, cover, size, mass, and carbon content are not well known at sub-continental to continental scales. This information is important for ecological protection, carbon accounting, climate mitigation, and restoration efforts of dryland ecosystems. The authors assessed more than 9.9 billion trees derived from more than 800,000 satellite images, covering semi-arid sub-Saharan Africa north of the Equator. Overall, the total carbon for the study area was estimated to 0.84 (±19.8%) petagrams of carbon (Pg C). Comparisons with 14 previous TRENDY numerical simulation studies for the area found that the density and carbon stocks of scattered trees have been underestimated by three models and overestimated by 11 models, respectively.
This benchmarking can help the GEF and other institutions understand the carbon cycle and address concerns about land degradation.