Applied Science to Catalyze Natural Climate Solutions

Climate change is a global problem that will require both reductions in new greenhouse gas emissions and removal of existing gases from the atmosphere. This project’s aim is to provide the data and decision support tools needed for quantifying the albedo component of assessments evaluating climate change mitigation opportunities from reforestation and agroforestry, avoided deforestation, and possibly also improved forest management. The project draws upon on prior research in the U.S. and Canada, refining the methods as necessary to expand the analysis to a global scale. The research will sample a global atlas of satellite-derived surface albedos defined for specific land cover types, combine these with climatology data on snow cover, solar radiation, and radiative kernels to compute the global scale radiative forcing that would result from forest to non-forest conversions representative of deforestation and reforestation opportunities in a given area (e.g., evergreen needleleaf forest loss to or gain from grassland), and relate these radiative forcings in terms of Global Warming Potential. Datasets will be delivered to The Nature Conservancy for integration into products, tools, and/or web platforms, and the project team will aid in integration and associated communications. Scientific findings will inform the identification of areas of opportunity where changes in forest cover or forest composition are expected to yield net climate benefits.