Earth’s lungs

Absorbing around 8 Gigatonnes a year of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere a year, forests play a crucial role in the carbon cycle and climate system. However, forest degradation and deforestation, particularly in tropical regions, are causing much of this otherwise stored carbon to be released back into the atmosphere, exacerbating climate change. Quantifying the global cycle is essential to understanding the rapid changes that forests are undergoing and the subsequent implications for our climate.