✦Upcoming✦ 04 AUG 2026 (TUE) 10:00-11:00
- 3 days ago
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Geography Distinguished Seminar Series
Overlooked contribution of small disturbances to global forest carbon loss
Date: 04 AUG 2026 (Tuesday)
Time: 10:00-11:00 (HKT)
Venue: Chamber, Faculty of Social Sciences, 11/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU
Mode: Hybrid
Via Zoom: Zoom link will be provided upon successful registration
Registration link: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=108693
Abstract:
Forests play a critical role in regulating the global carbon cycle, yet assessments of forest carbon loss often emphasize large-scale disturbances while overlooking smaller, widespread events. This presentation highlights the cumulative impact of small disturbances, including localized mortality, selective harvesting, drought impacts, and other subtle changes, on global forest carbon dynamics. By integrating observations across spatial scales, we reveal that these overlooked disturbances represent a significant component of total forest carbon loss. Their frequent occurrence and broad distribution can generate substantial carbon emissions over time. Accounting for these processes improves estimates of forest carbon vulnerability and ecosystem resilience.
Professor Philippe Ciais
Researcher, Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE)
Philippe Ciais is a researcher of the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), the climate change research unit of the Institut Pierre Simon Laplace (IPSL). He is a physicist working on the global carbon cycle of planet Earth, climate change, ecology and geosciences. He is the member of the French Academy of sciences and has been named the most cited researcher in the world in studies dedicated to climate change.
