Valuing the functionality of tropical ecosystems beyond carbon

Jesús Aguirre-Gutiérrez; Nicola Stevens; Erika Berenguer

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2023.08.012

Valuing the functionality of tropical ecosystems beyond carbon

Trends Ecol Evol. 2023 Dec;38(12):1109-1111. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.08.012. Epub 2023 Oct 3.

Authors

Jesús Aguirre-Gutiérrez¹, Nicola Stevens², Erika Berenguer³

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX13QY, UK; Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, University of Oxford, Oxford OX13QY, UK. Electronic address: jesus.aguirregutierrez@ouce.ox.ac.uk.
² Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX13QY, UK; University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, Gauteng 2000, South Africa.
³ Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX13QY, UK; Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK.

PMID: 37798181
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.08.012

Abstract

Land-based carbon sequestration projects, such as tree planting, are a prominent strategy to offset carbon emissions. However, we risk reducing natural ecosystems to one metric - carbon. Emphasis on restoring ecosystems to balance ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, and carbon sequestration is a more appropriate strategy to protect their functioning.

MeSH terms

Biodiversity
Carbon*
Conservation of Natural Resources
Ecosystem*
Trees

Substances

Carbon