Global Shift Towards Younger Forests

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment and Climate Change

Context

• A recent study highlights a global shift towards younger forests, disrupting the carbon balance as older, carbon-rich forests decline.
  • Between 2010–2020, the area of forests aged 21–40 years increased by 17% (0.03 billion hectares), but this came at the cost of older forests.

Importance of Forest Age

• Young Forests grow rapidly and can absorb up to 20 times more CO₂ than older forests, especially less than 20 years old. However, they store much less carbon compared to old-growth forests.
• Old Forests act as long-term carbon reservoirs and provide irreplaceable ecological services like biodiversity conservation, water regulation, and climate resilience.
• Carbon Balance Disturbance: Replacement of old forests by younger ones reduces the planet’s overall carbon storage capacity, pushing some regions from carbon sinks to carbon sources (e.g., eastern Amazon).

Drivers of Younger Forest Dominance

• Human Activities: Deforestation and clear-cutting, Slash-and-Burn Agriculture, Forest Management Practices, Land-Use Change.
• Natural Disturbances: Wildfires, Droughts, Insect Outbreaks, High Burning Frequency.

Implications

• Climate Change: Younger forests cannot fully compensate for the loss of carbon-rich old forests.
  • This undermines global climate targets, including the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C.
• Biodiversity: Younger forests support fewer species compared to old-growth ecosystems.
• Regional CO₂ Dynamics: Deforestation hotspots risk turning into net CO₂ sources.
• Forest Policy: Heavy reliance on afforestation/reforestation without protecting old-growth forests could provide only limited climate benefits.

Way Ahead

• Prioritize protection of old-growth forests, safeguarding long-term carbon reservoirs and biodiversity.
• Balance Afforestation with Conservation, while young forests are valuable, they cannot substitute mature forests.
• Strengthen International Commitments: Support initiatives like REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation).
  • Encourage global cooperation in tackling transboundary forest fires and illegal logging.
• Community-Based Conservation, promoting alternatives to slash-and-burn and incentivising traditional forest stewardship.

Source: DTE