Net Zero Evolution’s Post

🔎 You’ve likely heard of tree cover restoration as a climate solution, but did you know it can sometimes lead to global warming if the trees are planted in the wrong places? This is due to the albedo effect, or the fraction of sunlight that is reflected from Earth back to the atmosphere. Trees, being darker than other surfaces, tend to absorb more sunlight.   Thankfully, new research shows how albedo can affect forest restoration around the world, helping decision-makers choose the best locations for tree planting projects.   “We’ve addressed a significant research gap and gained a much more complete picture of how restoring tree cover can impact our global climate – both positively and also sometimes negatively,” says Susan Cook-Patton, Ph.D., senior forest restoration scientist at The Nature Conservancy and co-author on the paper.   “There are so many good reasons to restore tree cover, even in locations with fewer climate benefits: cleaner water, resilient food production, wildlife habitat, and so on. Our paper simply provides decisionmakers with one more set of tools in their toolkit.”   “We’re calling on governments and land managers to more carefully consider albedo in their environmental decision-making.”   Read about the study here: https://lnkd.in/e2sec8Aa   📷: Benjamin Drummond Clark University, ETH Zürich, Natalia Hasler, Christopher Williams, Silvana Vanessa Carrasco Denney, Peter Ellis, Drew Terasaki Hart, Ph.D., Nicholas Wolff, Samantha Yeo, Thomas W. Crowther, Leland Werden #naturebasedsolutions #climateaction

A groundbreaking study featured on Phys.org reveals how reforestation efforts in the eastern United States could significantly lower temperatures, combatting the effects of global warming. By restoring forests over the next century, we can achieve cooler regional climates, showcasing the powerful role trees play in our ecosystem's balance and health. ATLAS-SSI is proud to be working hand in hand with One Tree Planted to support reforestation initiatives. Our partnership reflects a shared commitment to sustainability and combating climate change, one tree at a time. For every rebuild project we undertake, we contribute to planting trees, thereby actively participating in global efforts to cool our planet and create a greener future. Together, we're not just investing in the health of our water systems; we're investing in the health of our planet. Join us in supporting reforestation and discover how simple actions can lead to significant environmental impacts. Read more about the cooling effects of reforestation: A Century of Reforestation Could Help Cool Our Planet https://lnkd.in/emnYW3_E #Reforestation #Sustainability #OneTreePlanted #ATLASSSI

appreciating National Audubon Society guidance #Birds and #Transmission: #Building the #grid #Birds needs - #intergenerational #intercultural #safe #naturefirst #sdgs #placebased #inclusive #planning #onehealth #wellbeing #design #forall

Management approaches to conserve Australia’s marine ecosystem under climate change. Strategies codeveloped with Indigenous Australians that are guided by traditional ecological knowledge and a modeling and decision support framework. https://lnkd.in/gaKWczQ2

Join us in exploring the critical role of reforestation in the Western United States and its impact on climate change 🌲🔥. Read more to understand the transformative power of reforestation and how you can contribute to a sustainable future 🌱✨. #reforestation #ClimateAction #sustainability #opendata #seedlings #wildfirerestoration https://lnkd.in/ewx5UjZa

We need to rapidly upgrade the transmission grid while also protecting bird habitat. Audubon’s Birds and Transmission report lays out how we can do both: https://bit.ly/3VgJDSZ Released in August 2023, the report highlights some of the ways to reduce transmission risks to birds based on a well-established and robust scientific knowledge base. These include proactive solutions, which should be implemented during the planning process, and reactive solutions, which are implemented after construction is complete. “It is clear that to decarbonize our economy in time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we need to significantly upgrade the U.S. transmission grid,” says Audubon’s Marshall Johnson. “We are in a unique position to advocate for improving efficiency, making the best use of existing infrastructure corridors, and promoting new transmission infrastructure built in a way that maximizes clean energy development while minimizing negative impacts on birds, wildlife, and people.” Reaching our clean energy goals and transmission needs will help provide a path towards a more stable climate, where bird species are better off, and where people and biodiversity can thrive.

Excerpt: Forests are an essential part of Earth’s operating system. They reduce the buildup of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and land degradation by 30% each year. This slows global temperature increases and the resulting changes to the climate. In the U.S., forests take up 12% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions annually and store the carbon long term in trees and soils. Mature and old-growth forests, with larger trees than younger forests, play an outsized role in accumulating carbon and keeping it out of the atmosphere. These forests are especially resistant to wildfires and other natural disturbances as the climate warms. Most forests in the continental U.S. have been harvested multiple times. Today, just 3.9% of timberlands across the U.S., in public and private hands, are over 100 years old, and most of these areas hold relatively little carbon compared with their potential. The Biden administration is moving to improve protection for old-growth and mature forests on federal land, which we see as a welcome step. But this involves regulatory changes that will likely take several years to complete. Meanwhile, existing forest management plans that allow logging of these important old, large trees remain in place.

Projections of changes in the global distribution of shallow water ecosystems through 2100 due to climate change - PLOS Climate: The global area and distribution of shallow water ecosystems (SWEs), and their projected responses to climate change, are fundamental for evaluating future changes in their ecosystem functions, including biodiversity and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Although previous studies have focused on a few SWEs, we modelled the global distribution of all major SWEs (seagrass meadows, macroalgal beds, tidal marshes, mangroves, and coral habitats) from current conditions (1986–2005) to 2100 under the representative concentration pathway (RCP) 2.6 and 8.5 emission scenarios. Our projections show that global coral habitat shrank by as much as 75% by 2100 with warmer ocean temperatures, but macroalgal beds, tidal marshes, and mangroves remained about the same because photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) depth did not vary greatly (macroalgal beds) and the shrinkage caused by sea-level rise was offset by other areas of expansion (tidal marshes and mangroves). Seagrass meadows were projected to increase by up to 11% by 2100 because of the increased PAR depth. If the landward shift of tidal marshes and mangroves relative to sea-level rise was restricted by assuming coastal development and land use, the SWEs shrank by 91.9% (tidal marshes) and 74.3% (mangroves) by 2100. Countermeasures may be necessary for coastal defense in the future; these include considering the best mix of SWEs and coastal hard infrastructure because the significant shrinkage in coral habitat could not decrease wave energy. However, if appropriate coastal management is achieved, the other four SWEs, which have relatively high CO2 absorption rates, can help mitigate the climate change influences. https://lnkd.in/eaT6xvdg

#NowReading ☕ : Forest Restoration: Carbon, Water and So Much More #Forests and trees do so much more than simply capturing carbon. While #carbonstorage provides a vital service, a focus on the crucial role of carbon alone neglects the many other vital contributions forests make. For example, their role in sustaining #biodiversity, contributing to local people, and maintaining the #watercycle, require greater emphasis. In their essay "Restoring deforested drylands for a wetter future – harnessing trees for credits, climate and water", SUPERB’s Koen Kramer (Land Life Company) and Douglas Sheil (Wageningen University & Research) emphasize the importance of considering water alongside carbon when planning dryland restoration efforts. With the right tree species in the right locations, we can improve both carbon capture and the water cycle. The authors argue that in case of drylands, changes in atmospheric water should be recognised as human-induced factor for enhanced global warming. Their argument is that vast areas of dryland forests have been cleared over the last 2 centuries, which has resulted in desiccation, i.e. reduced condensation and thus less cooling of the atmosphere. In other words, human-induced deforestation enhanced the greenhouse effect of water vapor in the atmosphere and should therefore be recognised as direct effect determining climate change. If recognized, this effect can be expressed in CO₂ equivalents and existing markets can be used to fund restoration of #deforesteddrylands. This is, as the experts admit, a bold idea. The effects of trees and forests on local hydrology, albedo, and atmospheric moisture content is much debated in the scientific community as they depend on local orographic conditions, distance to sea, tree cover and species composition, and so on. Nevertheless, at a larger scale, desiccation by deforestation and rewetting by reforestation is increasingly recognized. With the right tree species in the right locations, we can improve both #carboncapture and the water cycle, emphasize Koen and Douglas. This could form the base to improve the land and lives of those living there. Water matters because everything else depends on it. https://lnkd.in/eCFDhi_K

🌳✨ Climate change poses a threat to our forests, but there's hope! This insightful article explores practical ways we can boost forest resilience. From promoting diverse tree species to sustainable management practices, let's work together to safeguard these vital ecosystems. #ClimateAction #ForestResilience: https://lnkd.in/dbpPxvKt