Guiding Agricultural Expansion to Spare Tropical Forests

摘要: Commodity crop expansion in the tropics presents challenge of preserving tropical moist forest (TMF) ecosystems and their role carbon sequestration. We propose an algorithm, specific to TMF biome, which identifies 125 million ha degraded, low-carbon density land (LCDL) Pantropical belt for agricultural expansion. About 65 LCDL are contiguous tracts >5,000 <500 m elevation, meeting prerequisites commercial-scale oil palm production, fastest-expanding industrialized commodity TMF. These areas could support commercial agriculture another 25–50 years without further conversion Confining can avoid release approximately 13 billion tons CO2 while saving valuable biodiversity. The simplicity transparency this easily monitored metric prove useful producers, governments, investors, environmental stewards, consumers enhance good governance regions.