Cooling CO2 Emissions
Can we reduce carbon dioxide emissions by simply allowing forests to recover?
September 13, 2024
Regrowing tropical forests emit significantly lower soil carbon dioxide than cattle pastures.
Regrowing tropical forests emit significantly lower soil carbon dioxide than cattle pastures.
A NASA plane came to Panama to acquire aerial images to inform scientists about the diversity of tropical ecosystems. At the same time, researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama collected similar data from the ground. The goal: to create an algorithm to better understand tropical ecosystems using satellite remote sensing in the future.
The air moving above the forest carries valuable information about how trees absorb carbon, and what may happen in the future as global temperatures rise.
Studying the forest
from the top down
My research interests span a broad range of subjects from conservation biology and restoration ecology to collaborations with social scientist and economists on subjects related to human behavior and land management. The common theme is the applied nature of my work and the effort to provide...
Drawing on 30-plus years of research in the Panama Canal Watershed, Smithsonian scientist Jefferson Hall releases an illustrated publication that will improve reforestation and help successfully restore forests with 64 species of Neotropical trees.
Now that the rainy season has started, it is the perfect time to plant trees in Panama. We offer smart, science-based advice for choosing the perfect trees for your site and helping them to grow.
When he’s not racing his bike cross-country, Milton Garcia is in demand for his expertise flying drones. In the last month, he monitored mangrove deforestation on Panama’s Pacific coast, mapped a new research station in Coiba National Park and tracked blooming trees on Barro Colorado Island, the first plot in an international network of forest monitoring sites.
STRI took a gamble on a carbon offset program in partnership with an indigenous community in eastern Panama. Ten years later, it has successfully met offset goals, empowered women, built environmental stewardship capacity, created a long-term research platform and offered hope for a community’s threatened forest-based traditions.