Enhanced observation of forest albedo reveals significant offsets to reported carbon benefits
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15548454 |
|---|---|
| Authors | SEAN P HEALEY (0000-0003-3498-4266, Rocky Mountain Research Station, corresponding author), Zhiqiang Yang (0009-0003-3885-4976, Rocky Mountain Research Station), Angela Erb (0000-0002-7987-0898, Leidos (United States)), Ryan M Bright (0000-0001-8553-5570, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research), Grant M Domke (0000-0003-0485-0355, Northern Research Station), Tracey S Frescino (0000-0003-0320-4167, Rocky Mountain Research Station), C Schaaf (University of Massachusetts Boston), Crystal B Schaaf |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 074025-074025 |
| Publication date | 2025-05-08 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/add60a |
| OpenAlex | W4410198352 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 54 |
Rapidly maturing frameworks for investing in and committing to mitigation of climate change through forest management have focused almost exclusively on the benefits of carbon sequestration, without accounting for collateral changes in geophysical factors such as surface albedo. Newly available 30 m albedo retrievals derived from imagery acquired by the Landsat 8 satellite, analyzed at 273 652 field plots monitored by the United States Forest Service, suggest that large areas of the US Inter-Mountain West’s forests have a net warming impact on the planet’s surface energy balance. For the conterminous US, the impacts of albedo offset approximately half of the recognized non-soil forest carbon storage benefit. The emerging capacity to resolve albedo evolution at the scale of a large number of inventory plots also provides unprecedented empirical evidence that albedo impacts vary strongly as a function of both tree age and species group. This research highlights a correctable source of uncertainty in operational monitoring of forest-climate interactions, and it may temper expectations for forest establishment as a means of mitigating global climate change
Albedo (alchemy · Atmospheric sciences · Carbon fibers · Geography · Remote sensing · Aeolian processes and effects · Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics · Environmental Impact and Sustainability · Environmental Science · Materials Science · Geology
Landsat-8
Natural climate solutions
Global forest loss disproportionately erodes biodiversity in intact landscapes
Forests and Climate Change
The Nasa Carbon Monitoring System Phase 2 synthesis
An assessment of data sources, data quality and changes in national forest monitoring capacities in the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2005–2020
Quantifying the potential for climate change mitigation of consumption options
Forested lands dominate drinking water supply in the conterminous United States
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |