Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42538419›Full record

ArticleNature ecology & evolution2026

Widespread carbon accumulation in mature forests remains underestimated by satellite observations.

Lei Ma, George Hurtt, Hao Tang, Dalei Hao, Philippe Ciais, Yude Pan, Stephen Sitch, Pierre Friedlingstein, Ralph Dubayah, Matheus Henrique Nunes and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature ecology & evolution, 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

11 authors.

Lei MaDepartment of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, USA. lma6@umd.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3959-4155
George HurttDepartment of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7278-202X
Hao TangDepartment of Geography, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7935-5848
Dalei HaoAtmospheric, Climate, and Earth Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7154-6332
Philippe CiaisLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement, Université Paris-Saclay, IPSL, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8560-4943
Yude PanUSDA Forest Service, Durham, NH, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1469-9348
Stephen SitchFaculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1821-8561
Pierre FriedlingsteinFaculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3309-4739
Ralph DubayahDepartment of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1440-6346
Matheus Henrique NunesDepartment of Geographical Sciences, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9979-6456
Xinyuan WeiSchool of Forest Resources, University of Maine, Orono, ME, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8622-7756

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mature forests are often assumed to approach carbon saturation, yet their role in continued carbon accumulation remains uncertain. Here we show that, across the conterminous USA, carbon accumulation in mature forests, covering ~72% of forest area, is systematically underrepresented by current satellite-derived biomass estimates relative to lidar, forest inventories and ecosystem models. Satellite estimates indicate near-neutral biomass changes over recent decades, whereas forest inventories estimate an increase of 102 TgC yr

Indexed as

CarbonCarbon SequestrationForestsTreesBiomassRemote Sensing TechnologySatellite ImageryCarbon

Identifiers

PMID42538419

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.