Publisher's Synopsis
The report describes the vital contribution that ecosystems can and must make in our efforts to cut very large emissions of greenhouse gases that are needed if we are to avoid the worst effects of global climate change. Vigorous efforts are needed to decrease carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere and doing so will be impossible without addressing carbon losses from ecosystems such as forests and peatlands. Managing ecosystems for carbon can not only reduce carbon emissions, it can also actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Restoring some of the large amounts of carbon lost from agricultural soils and drylands has the greatest potential here. Currently, this natural fix is the only feasible option for removing carbon from the atmosphere at large.
