Increasing carbon storage in intact African tropical forests

This study reports data from a network of long-term monitoring plots across African tropical forests, which finds that above-ground carbon storage in live trees increased by 0.63 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 between 1968 and 2007. The data is extrapolated to unmeasured forest components, and by scaling to the continent, a total increase in carbon storage in African tropical forest trees of 0.34 Pg C yr−1 is estimated. These results provide evidence that increasing carbon storage in old-growth forests is a pan-tropical phenomenon.