ABSTRACT
Forests play an important role in regulating the earth’s climate through the carbon cycle, storing carbon above and below ground and removing it from the atmosphere as they grow. They currently cover about 30 per cent of the earth’s land surface, yet they represent the most significant terrestrial carbon store, containing some 77 per cent of all carbon stored in vegetation and 39 per cent of all carbon stored in soils. Forests sequester and store more carbon per hectare than other types of land cover.
