High-Density Carbon Landscapes in the Tropics and Subtropics
MAYA FOREST CORRIDOR
CONGO BASIN
UPPER GUINEAN FOREST
INDONESIA
AMAZON BASIN
What is Vulnerable Carbon ?
While vast amounts of carbon are stored in biomass and soil , not all of that carbon is lost when natural ecosystems are converted to agriculture , pasture or even urban landscapes . It is important to isolate this “ vulnerable carbon ” so that we can more accurately estimate the amount of carbon we are helping to keep in the ground through the creation of protected areas .
When land is converted for human use , all of the biomass carbon — but only some of the soil carbon — is released into the atmosphere . For example , only 26 % ( on average ) of the top 12 inches of soil carbon is released when forests and grasslands are converted to agriculture ; the rest stays in the ground . However , in waterlogged systems like peat and mangroves , carbon is both denser and more vulnerable : an estimated 80-90 % of the top 3 ¼ feet of carbon is released when mangroves are converted to shrimp ponds or peatland is converted to agriculture . By pinpointing vulnerable carbon in our measurements , we can more precisely estimate our impact when mitigating climate change .
*
The concept and science behind vulnerable carbon was originally described in Goldstein et al . 2020 : Protecting irrecoverable carbon in Earth ’ s ecosystems , Nature Climate Change .
7