A study shows the widest (international) possibilities for forest restoration and the carbon sequestration potential associated with restoration in current climatic conditions. Researchers have received a significant number of technical comments, both supporting and debating this study. It has been concluded that some comments are worthy of further discussion.
...to show that in the current climate there could exist (be space for) 4.4 billion hectares that would conditionally be "covered by canopy". Excluding existing trees and agricultural and urban areas, we found space for an additional 0.9 billion hectares of forest ("canopy cover"), which could accumulate 205 gigatonnes of carbon in those regions that would naturally support forests and forest maintenance. Forest restoration on an international scale is one of the most effective carbon sequestration solutions. Climate change, of course, will have some impact on this. We estimate that, internationally, the volume of forest ("canopy cover") could shrink by ~223 million hectares by 2050, with the majority of losses occurring in the tropics....