Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42397928›Full record

SynthesisScience advances2026

A meta-analysis of carbon losses and gains from tropical moist forest degradation and regeneration.

Viola Heinrich, Amelia Holcomb, Simon Besnard, Daniela Requena Suarez, Susan Cook-Patton, Clément Bourgoin, Robin Chazdon, David A Gibbs, Flavia Souza Mendes, Iain McNicol and 31 more

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Science advances, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

41 authors.

Viola HeinrichSection 1.4 Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-0501-0032
Amelia HolcombDepartment of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-5081-7201
Simon BesnardSection 1.4 Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-1137-103X
Daniela Requena SuarezSection 1.4 Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-3081-6882
Susan Cook-PattonThe Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7194-4397
Clément BourgoinEuropean Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra, Italy.ORCID 0000-0003-4923-3035
Robin ChazdonForest Research Institute, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-7349-5687
David A GibbsWorld Resources Institute, Washington, DC 20002, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7389-8569
Flavia Souza MendesPlanet Labs Germany GmbH, Berlin, Germany.
Iain McNicolSchool of Geosciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FF, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3073-5668
Charlotte WheelerRevalue, 25 Horsell Rd, London N5 1XL, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-4149-5997
Celso H L Silva-JuniorInstituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (IPAM), Brasília 70863-520, Brazil.ORCID 0000-0002-1052-5551
Bienvenu H K AmaniUniversité Nangui Abrogoua, Unité de Formation et de Recherches en Sciences de la Nature, Laboratoire d'Écologie et du Développement Durable (LEDD), 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02, Côte d'Ivoire.ORCID 0000-0003-1610-1212
Jean-Francois BastinTeaching and Research Center (TERRA), Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech-Université de Liège, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0003-2602-7247
Timothée Besisa NgubaTeaching and Research Center (TERRA), Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech-Université de Liège, 5030 Gembloux, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-4808-0543
Na ChenDepartment of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Huiying ChenDepartment of Earth System Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Institute for Global Change Studies, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Philippe CiaisLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.ORCID 0000-0001-8560-4943
Ricardo DalagnolCTrees, Pasadena, CA 91105, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7151-8697
Xu DouDepartment of Earth System Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Institute for Global Change Studies, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Quan DuanDepartment of Earth System Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Institute for Global Change Studies, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Xueyuan GaoDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2997-2332
Ava Nafiseh GoodarziThe Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8979-4964
Bruno HéraultCIRAD, UR Forêts et Sociétés, Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire.ORCID 0000-0002-6950-7286
Jo HouseSchool of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
David M LapolaCentro de Pesquisas Meteorológicas e Climáticas Aplicadas à Agricultura - CEPAGRI, Universidade Estadual de Campinas - UNICAMP, Campinas 13086-883, Brazil.ORCID 0000-0002-2654-7835
Mengyu LiangDepartment of Earth System Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3877-8056
Zekai MengDepartment of Earth System Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Institute for Global Change Studies, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.ORCID 0009-0007-1137-7996
Gert-Jan NabuursWageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-9761-074X
Erin PoorThe Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-8799-3193
Luke ParsonsThe Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3147-0593
Johannes ReicheLaboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-4327-4349
Stephen SitchFaculty of Environment, Science, and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1821-8561
Ruben ValbuenaSwedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-0493-7581
Anne-Juul WelsinkLaboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-0034-4220
Serge WiltshireThe Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0474-2760
Chao WuDepartment of Earth System Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Institute for Global Change Studies, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.ORCID 0000-0003-3233-856X
Yidi XuLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, LSCE/IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Université Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France.ORCID 0000-0003-1528-4256
Jinqi ZhaoDepartment of Earth System Science, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth System Modeling, Institute for Global Change Studies, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.ORCID 0009-0003-1193-8846
Luiz AragãoFaculty of Environment, Science, and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4134-6708
Martin HeroldSection 1.4 Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-0246-6886

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Aboveground carbon (AGC) fluxes from deforestation and subsequent regrowth in tropical moist forest (TMF) are increasingly well characterized, but carbon losses and gains following partial disturbance are uncertain. We synthesized 146 studies quantifying postdisturbance AGC changes relative to undisturbed forests across TMF. Immediate AGC losses (mean ± 1 SD; 2.5 ± 2.3 years after disturbance) following partial anthropogenic disturbances were greatest for forest fires (49 ± 26%), selective logging (34 ± 20%), and edge effects (31 ± 19%). Higher-frequency and -intensity disturbances significantly increased carbon loss. After 20 years of regeneration, AGC stock was higher in recovering degraded forests (41 to 117%) compared to secondary regrowth forests after complete deforestation (1 to 74%), indicating greater regeneration potential when forest structure is preserved. Our compiled database and associated meta-analysis improve accuracy and completeness for carbon inventory reporting and modeling. Substantial AGC losses and gains from distinct degradation and recovery processes are now better characterized, serving as an evidence base for policies to halt degradation and foster recovery for climate mitigation.

Indexed as

CarbonConservation of Natural ResourcesForestsTropical ClimateEcosystemTreesCarbon

Identifiers

PMID42397928
PMCPMC13330863

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.