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Editorial
. 2021 Sep 21;118(38):e2115218118.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.2115218118.

Opinion: We need biosphere stewardship that protects carbon sinks and builds resilience

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Editorial

Opinion: We need biosphere stewardship that protects carbon sinks and builds resilience

Johan Rockström et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .
No abstract available

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interest. D.H. and M.B.M. were supported by a grant from Gordon and Betty Moore to Conservation International. B.G. was supported by the Lui-Walton Innovators Fellowship program.

Figures

None
Safeguarding the biosphere from further degradation or collapse is an existential challenge for humanity. There are important steps we can take to contain the damage. Image credit: Shutterstock/Kritskiy-ua.
Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
(A) Carbon sinks in major biomes (SI Appendix, Table 1). Grey areas indicate regions dominated by agriculture. (B) Carbon stocks in vegetation and soils in major biomes and the share of each biome remaining intact today (SI Appendix, Table 1). (C) Global average temperature changes relative to pre-industrial levels under RCP2.6, where the pathway meeting the “Paris target” is the standard RCP2.6 simulation. “Biosphere loss” shows global temperature change without land carbon sinks from 1900. The Δ0.4 °C arrow shows the estimated dampening effect up until today from land-based ecosystems. “Full NCS” assumes large-scale restoration of land-based natural carbon sinks in forests, grasslands, peatlands, and wetlands, as well as avoided future ecosystem degradation, amounting to total emission reductions of 4.6 GtC per year after 2030 (SI Appendix, Methods for details).

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