{
  "abstract": "Accurate mapping of woody biomass and its temporal change is critical for understanding the global carbon balance, informing restoration and supporting evidence-based policy on climate mitigation and livelihoods. The vegetation of the dry tropics, comprised largely of dry forests and savannas, holds substantial woody carbon stocks, but both stocks and change over time remain uncertain. Where Earth Observation (EO) data have been used to estimate change over time, different products give conflicting results on the direction, magnitude and location of change. We present pan-dry-tropical maps of aboveground carbon density (AGCD) and AGCD change at 100 m resolution for the years 2015-2024, developed using ALOS ScanSAR satellite radar observations calibrated with in situ measurements (n = 237). These maps suggest an aboveground woody carbon pool (AGC) in the dry tropics of 25.3 ± 2.0 PgC, ~13.0% of global AGC. Net AGC has increased by 0.43 ± 0.07 PgC yr⁻¹, ~20.0% of the global net land sink. The overall net increase (0.43 PgC yr⁻¹) is comprised of gross losses from deforestation and degradation (0.27 ± 0.05 PgC yr⁻¹) and gains due to densification and extensification of 0.59 ± 0.1 PgC yr⁻¹, with the balance accounted for by small changes (change < 20% of AGCD; 0.11 PgC yr⁻¹). Losses are equally split between degradation and deforestation, while gains are divided roughly 2:1 between the densification of woody ecosystems and expansion into previously grass-dominated areas. These new maps, created with a dry-tropics-specific EO method, highlight the importance of tropical dry forests and savannas in the global carbon cycle. The prominent role of degradation-related losses suggests that climate change mitigation will need to focus much more on reducing losses from overharvesting than at present. The widespread increases in carbon density and the increase in tree biomass into open systems present major challenges for biodiversity conservation, restoration and livelihoods.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.",
    "Forest Global Earth Observatory, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Washington, DC, USA.",
    "Carrera de Ingeniería Forestal, Universidad Nacional de Loja, Loja, Ecuador.",
    "Departamento de Botânica, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.",
    "CSIR-Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, Kumasi, Ghana.",
    "Instituto de Investigaciones Forestales de la Amazonía, Universidad Autónoma del Beni José Ballivián (IIFA-UAB), Bolivia.",
    "Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno (UAGRM), Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.",
    "School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.",
    "Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno, Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Santa Cruz, Bolivia.",
    "Jardim Botânico Do Rio de Janeiro (JBRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.",
    "Departamento de Biologia (Aposentado) da Universidade Federal do Piauí, Brazil.",
    "Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.",
    "Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique, Institut de L'environnement et de Recherches Agricoles, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.",
    "Programa de Pós‑Graduação em Sistemática, Uso e Conservação da Biodiversidade (PPGSis), Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC), Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.",
    "Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (UNEMAT), Nova Xavantina, Mato Grosso, Brazil.",
    "Biodiversity Research Centre, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek, Namibia.",
    "Ongava Research Centre, Namibia.",
    "Institute of Biogeosciences, IBG2: Plant Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany.",
    "Faculty of Communication and Environment, Hochschule Rhein-Waal, Kamp-Lintfort, Germany.",
    "Namibia University of Science and Technology, Windhoek, Namibia.",
    "Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (FFCLRP-USP), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.",
    "Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Belém, Brazil.",
    "Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil.",
    "Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, South Africa.",
    "South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON), South Africa.",
    "Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.",
    "Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Surrey, UK.",
    "School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.",
    "Instituto de Ecología Regional, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán- CONICET, Argentina.",
    "Universidade Mandume Ya Ndemufayo, Lubango, Angola.",
    "Herbário do Lubango, ISCED‑Huíla (Instituto Superior de Ciências da Educação da Huíla), Lubango, Angola.",
    "cE3c - Centro de Ecologia, Evolução e Alterações Ambientais, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, Lisboa, Portugal.",
    "Santa Cruz, Asociación Boliviana Para la Conservación de Las Aves, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.",
    "CIFOR-ICRAF, Lusaka, Zambia.",
    "Airbus Defence and Space, Surrey Research Park, Guildford, UK.",
    "Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, and College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.",
    "Department of Forestry & Forest Resources Management, Faculty of Natural Resources & Environment, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana.",
    "Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), Nairobi, Kenya.",
    "Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis, Missouri, USA.",
    "Department of Geography, University College London, UK."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 98,
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      "name": "Sam B Harrison",
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      "name": "Hermane Diesse",
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      "name": "Tomas F Domingues",
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      "name": "Fernando Elias",
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      "name": "Camila Laís Farrapo",
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      "name": "G Feig"
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      "name": "Ted R Feldpausch",
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      "name": "Moabe F Fernandes",
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      "name": "David R Galbraith",
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      "name": "Nestor I Gasparri",
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      "name": "Francisco Maiato",
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      "name": "Tatenda Gotore",
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      "name": "Karollyne S Guimarães"
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      "name": "Gloria Gutierrez-Sibauty"
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      "name": "Rhett D Harrison",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9055-3546"
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      "name": "Thomas P Higginbottom",
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      "name": "Francoise Yoko Ishida",
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      "name": "Hamza Issifu",
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      "name": "John Ngugi Kigomo",
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      "name": "Timothy J Killeen",
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      "name": "Aurora Levesley",
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      "name": "Dante Loto",
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      "name": "Elisvan Mariano Sousa"
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      "name": "Beatriz S Marimon",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3105-2914"
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      "name": "Ben Hur Marimon Junior",
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      "name": "Mário Marcos do Espírito Santo",
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      "name": "Antonia M L Marques",
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      "name": "Matheus Santos Martins",
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      "name": "Collins W Masinde",
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      ],
      "name": "Musingo Tito E Mbuvi",
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      "name": "Iain M McNicol",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3073-5668"
    },
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        27
      ],
      "name": "Karina Melgaço",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-2208-6613"
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      ],
      "name": "B Mogonong",
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  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2cpgkndcs5y6m.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1111/gcb.71141",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13680975",
  "id": "2cpgkndcs5y6m",
  "issns": [
    "1354-1013",
    "1365-2486"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897931",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2305|Remote Sensing and LiDAR Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223007705",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13680975?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13680975",
  "pmid": "42897931",
  "published": "2026-10-01",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2cpgkndcs5y6m.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:37Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42897931",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42897931"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "openalex:2305|Remote Sensing and LiDAR Applications",
      "subfield": "environmental-science"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Carbon Accumulation in Tropical Dry Forests and Savannas Despite Widespread Land-Cover Change, Revealed by Radar Remote Sensing.",
  "title_text": "Carbon Accumulation in Tropical Dry Forests and Savannas Despite Widespread Land-Cover Change, Revealed by Radar Remote Sensing.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:37Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2cpgkndcs5y6m",
  "venue": "Global change biology",
  "versions": []
}