DOI: 10.7910/dvn/v2isrh
title: Forest carbon dioxide gross removals (sequestration)

description: Displays gross carbon dioxide removals (sequestration) by standing and new forests globally from 2001 onwards. Geospatial data are in 10x10 degree geotifs. The northwest corner of each geotif is noted in the file name, e.g., 50N_030E has its northwest corner at (50 deg N, 30 deg E) and has its southeast corner at (40 deg N, 40 deg E). Use the shapefile in GFW_Hansen_tile_footprints.zip to determine which 10x10 degree geotifs cover your area(s) of interest.
&lt;p&gt; &lt;p&gt;
&lt;b&gt;Description (adapted from GFW Open Data Portal, &lt;a&gt;https://data.globalforestwatch.org/datasets/gfw::forest-carbon-removals/about&lt;/a&gt;):&lt;/b&gt;
&lt;p&gt; &lt;p&gt;
This carbon removals layer is part of the forest carbon flux model described in Harris et al. (2021). This paper introduces a geospatial monitoring framework for estimating global forest carbon fluxes which can assist a variety of actors and organizations with tracking greenhouse gas fluxes from forests and in decreasing emissions or increasing removals by forests. Forest carbon removals from the atmosphere (sequestration) by forest sinks represent the cumulative carbon captured (megagrams CO2/ha) by the growth of established and newly regrowing forests during the model period between 2001-2023. Removals include accumulation of carbon in both aboveground and belowground live tree biomass. Following IPCC Tier 1 assumptions for forests remaining forests, removals by dead wood, litter, and soil carbon pools are assumed to be zero. In each pixel, carbon removals are calculated following IPCC Guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories where forests existed in 2000 or were established between 2000 and 2020 according to Potapov et al. 2022. Atmospheric carbon removed in each pixel is based on maps of forest type (e.g., mangrove, plantation), ecozone (e.g., humid Neotropics), forest age (e.g., primary, old secondary), and number of years of carbon removal. This layer reflects the cumulative removals during the model period (2001-2023) and must be divided by 23 to obtain an annual average during the model duration; removal rates cannot be assigned to individual years of the model. All input layers were resampled to a common resolution of 0.00025 x 0.00025 degrees each to match Hansen et al. (2013). Removals are available for download in megagrams of CO2/ha from 2001 onwards. It is appropriate for visualizing (mapping) removals because it represents the density of removals per hectare from 2001 onwards.
&lt;p&gt;
Each year, the tree cover loss, drivers of tree cover loss, and burned area are updated. In 2023 and 2024, a few model input data sets and constants were changed as well, as described below. Please refer to &lt;a&gt;https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/data/whats-new-carbon-flux-monitoring/&lt;/a&gt; for more information. 
&lt;p&gt;
1. The source of the ratio between belowground carbon and aboveground carbon. Previously used one global constant; now uses map from Huang et al. 2021 
2. The years of tree cover gain. Previously used 2000-2012; now uses 2000-2020 from Potapov et al. 2022. &lt;p&gt;
3. The source of fire data. Previously used MODIS burned area; now uses tree cover loss from fires from Tyukavina et al. 2022. &lt;p&gt;
4. The source of peat maps. New tropical data sets have been included and the data set above 40 degrees north has been changed. &lt;p&gt;
5. Global warming potential (GWP) constants for CH4 and N2O. Previously used GWPs from IPCC Fifth Assessment Report; now uses GWPs from IPCC Sixth Assessment Report. &lt;p&gt;
6. Removal factors for older (&gt;20 years) secondary temperate forests and their associated uncertainties. Previously used removal factors published in Table 4.9 of the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories; now uses corrected removal factors and uncertainties from the 4th Corrigenda to the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. &lt;p&gt;
7. Planted tree extent and removal factors. Previously used Spatial Database of Planted Trees (SDPT) Version 1.0; now uses SDPT Version 2.0 and associated removal factors. &lt;p&gt;

&lt;b&gt;Cautions:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;

1. Data are the product of modeling and thus have an inherent degree of error and uncertainty. Users are strongly encouraged to read and fully comprehend the metadata and other available documentation prior to data use. &lt;p&gt;
2. Values are applicable to forest areas (canopy cover &gt;30 percent and &gt;5 m height or areas with tree cover gain). See Harris et al. (2021) for further information on the forest definition used in the analysis. &lt;p&gt;
3. Carbon removals reflect the total removals over the model period of 2001-2023, not an annual time series from which a trend can be derived. Thus, values must be divided by 23 to calculate average annual removals. &lt;p&gt;
4. Uncertainty is higher in gross removals than emissions, particularly driven by uncertainty in removal factors. &lt;p&gt;
5. Carbon removals reflect a gross estimate, i.e., carbon emissions from previous or subsequent loss of tree cover are not included. Instead, gross carbon emissions are accounted for in the companion forest carbon emissions layer. &lt;p&gt;
6. Removals data contain temporal inconsistencies because tree cover gain represents a cumulative total from 2000-2020, rather than annual gains as estimated through 2023. &lt;p&gt;
7. Forest carbon removals reflect those occurring only within forest ecosystems and do not reflect carbon stock increases in the harvested wood products (HWP) pool. &lt;p&gt;
8. Large jumps in removals along some boundaries are due to the use of ecozone-specific removal factors. The changes in removals occur at ecozone boundaries, where different removal factors are applied on each side. &lt;p&gt;
9. This dataset has been updated since its original publication. See Overview for more information.