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Climate benefits of tropical forest expansion

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Tropical forest expansion into previously unforested areas contributes substantially to carbon sequestration, offering an additional pathway for offsetting CO2 emissions and enhancing the resilience of future carbon dynamics.

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Fig. 1: A tree at Barro Colorado Island in Panama stretches above the forest canopy sequestering carbon through photosynthesis.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

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  1. Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Laura Duncanson

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  1. Laura Duncanson
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Laura Duncanson.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Duncanson, L. Climate benefits of tropical forest expansion.
Nat. Geosci. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-026-02009-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-026-02009-x

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