Forests without top predators (such as tigers) risk being overgrazed by large herbivore prey, depleting vegetation carbon stocks and their capacity to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, an essential ecosystem function for mitigating climate change. Therefore, just as forest protection and restoration can support top predator recovery “bottom-up,” large carnivore conservation likely promotes vegetation recovery “top-down” and represents an understudied component in nature-based solutions to climate change. Research published in Global Change Biology provides new insights into these relationships.
Investigators found that tiger presence is associated with higher forest vegetation carbon stocks per unit area, as well as overall lower carbon dioxide emissions and higher carbon dioxide removal than tiger-absent forests. Also, forest vegetation or soil carbon stocks increased with tiger density in four forest habitat types studied.
The findings reveal that tigers are both an indicator and a driver of forest ecosystem carbon stocks, depending on underlying ecological conditions, and could help safeguard against carbon emissions.
“Our analysis indicates that tiger density can influence forest vegetation carbon stocks by controlling large herbivore prey, but there is important context-dependency and variable outcomes to consider,” said corresponding author Guangshun Jiang, PhD, of Northeast Forestry University, in China. “Rebuilding forest carbon stocks can support tiger population growth, while tiger presence also seems to have a guardian effect to protect forests from deforestation and associated carbon emissions.”
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Global Change Biology is an environmental change journal dedicated to shaping the future and solving the world’s most challenging problems by tackling sustainability, climate change and environmental protection, food and water safety and provision, as well as global health.
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Journal
Global Change Biology
DOI
10.1111/gcb.70191
Article Title
Global tiger density linked with forest carbon stock, top-down and bottom-up
Article Publication Date
7-May-2025
Media Contact
Sara Henning-Stout
Wiley
Office: 9714294230
Journal
Global Change Biology
DOI
10.1111/gcb.70191
Journal
Global Change Biology
DOI
10.1111/gcb.70191
Article Title
Global tiger density linked with forest carbon stock, top-down and bottom-up
Article Publication Date
7-May-2025
Keywords
/Applied sciences and engineering/Environmental sciences/Ecology/Macroecology/Ecological diversity/Biodiversity
/Applied sciences and engineering/Environmental sciences/Ecology/Macroecology/Ecological diversity/Biodiversity/Biodiversity conservation
/Applied sciences and engineering/Environmental sciences/Ecology/Macroecology/Ecological diversity/Biodiversity/Biodiversity loss
/Applied sciences and engineering/Environmental sciences/Ecology/Macroecology/Ecological diversity/Biodiversity/Biodiversity threats
/Applied sciences and engineering/Environmental sciences/Ecology/Macroecology/Ecological diversity/Biodiversity/Habitat diversity
/Physical sciences/Earth sciences/Climatology/Climate change
/Physical sciences/Earth sciences/Climatology/Climate change/Climate change mitigation
bu içeriği en az 2000 kelime olacak şekilde ve alt başlıklar ve madde içermiyecek şekilde ünlü bir science magazine için İngilizce olarak yeniden yaz. Teknik açıklamalar içersin ve viral olacak şekilde İngilizce yaz. Haber dışında başka bir şey içermesin. Haber içerisinde en az 12 paragraf ve her bir paragrafta da en az 50 kelime olsun. Cevapta sadece haber olsun. Ayrıca haberi yazdıktan sonra içerikten yararlanarak aşağıdaki başlıkların bilgisi var ise haberin altında doldur. Eğer yoksa bilgisi ilgili kısmı yazma.:
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Keywords
Tags: carbon dioxide removal and forest healthconservation strategies for tigersecological relationships in forest ecosystemsforest carbon stocks and biodiversityforest restoration and carbon sequestrationGlobal Change Biology research findingsimportance of predator-prey dynamicslarge herbivore impacts on vegetationnature-based solutions for climate changerole of top predators in ecosystemstiger conservation and climate changetiger density and carbon emissions
