Towards a global understanding of tree mortality
(2025) In New Phytologist 245(6). p.2377-2392- Abstract
Rates of tree mortality are increasing globally, with implications for forests and climate. Yet, how and why these trends vary globally remain unknown. Developing a comprehensive assessment of global tree mortality will require systematically integrating data from ground-based long-term forest monitoring with large-scale remote sensing. We surveyed the metadata from 466 865 forest monitoring plots across 89 countries and five continents using questionnaires and discuss the potential to use these to estimate tree mortality trends globally. Our survey shows that the area monitored has increased steadily since 1960, but we also identify many regions with limited ground-based information on tree mortality. The integration of existing... (More)
Rates of tree mortality are increasing globally, with implications for forests and climate. Yet, how and why these trends vary globally remain unknown. Developing a comprehensive assessment of global tree mortality will require systematically integrating data from ground-based long-term forest monitoring with large-scale remote sensing. We surveyed the metadata from 466 865 forest monitoring plots across 89 countries and five continents using questionnaires and discuss the potential to use these to estimate tree mortality trends globally. Our survey shows that the area monitored has increased steadily since 1960, but we also identify many regions with limited ground-based information on tree mortality. The integration of existing ground-based forest inventories with remote sensing and modelling can potentially fill those gaps, but this requires development of technical solutions and agreements that enable seamless flows of information from the field to global assessments of tree mortality. A truly global monitoring effort should promote fair and equitable collaborations, transferring funding to and empowering scientists from less wealthy regions. Increasing interest in forests as a natural climate solution, the advancement of new technologies and world-wide connectivity means that now a global monitoring system of tree mortality is not just urgently needed but also possible.
(Less)
- author
- author collaboration
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-03
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- disturbance, forest inventory, forest monitoring, remote sensing, tree dieback
- in
- New Phytologist
- volume
- 245
- issue
- 6
- pages
- 2377 - 2392
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85217563639
- ISSN
- 0028-646X
- DOI
- 10.1111/nph.20407
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s). New Phytologist © 2025 New Phytologist Foundation.
- id
- 895b42f6-3791-4e13-a8b9-7b8884e19cf5
- date added to LUP
- 2025-02-23 15:37:00
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 14:57:22
@article{895b42f6-3791-4e13-a8b9-7b8884e19cf5,
abstract = {{<p>Rates of tree mortality are increasing globally, with implications for forests and climate. Yet, how and why these trends vary globally remain unknown. Developing a comprehensive assessment of global tree mortality will require systematically integrating data from ground-based long-term forest monitoring with large-scale remote sensing. We surveyed the metadata from 466 865 forest monitoring plots across 89 countries and five continents using questionnaires and discuss the potential to use these to estimate tree mortality trends globally. Our survey shows that the area monitored has increased steadily since 1960, but we also identify many regions with limited ground-based information on tree mortality. The integration of existing ground-based forest inventories with remote sensing and modelling can potentially fill those gaps, but this requires development of technical solutions and agreements that enable seamless flows of information from the field to global assessments of tree mortality. A truly global monitoring effort should promote fair and equitable collaborations, transferring funding to and empowering scientists from less wealthy regions. Increasing interest in forests as a natural climate solution, the advancement of new technologies and world-wide connectivity means that now a global monitoring system of tree mortality is not just urgently needed but also possible.</p>}},
author = {{Senf, Cornelius and Pugh, Thomas A.M. and Anderegg, William R.L. and Anderson-Teixeira, Kristina J. and Arellano, Gabriel and Beloiu Schwenke, Mirela and Bentz, Barbara J. and Boehmer, Hans Juergen and Bond-Lamberty, Ben and Bordin, Kauane Maiara and Brearley, Francis Q. and Bussotti, Filippo and Cailleret, Maxime and Camarero, J. Julio and Chirici, Gherardo and Costa, Flavia R.C. and Dalagnol, Ricardo and Davi, Hendrik and Davies, Stuart J. and Delzon, Sylvain and Dhakal, Bishnu Prasad and Ferreira de Lima, Renato A. and Ferretti, Marco and Fontaine, Joseph B. and Garbarino, Matteo and de Gasper, André Luís and Gessler, Arthur and Gilbert, Gregory S. and Godlee, John L. and Gonçalves, Francisco Maiato Pedro and Govaere, Leen and Gutiérrez, Alvaro G. and Cardozo, Ernesto Gómez and Hammond, William M. and Hartmann, Henrik and Hobi, Martina L. and Holz, Andrés and Homeier, Jürgen and Hovenden, Mark Joseph and Huang, Cho ying and Hérault, Bruno and Jackson, Toby and Jucker, Tommaso and Jump, Alistair S. and Junttila, Samuli and Kattenborn, Teja and Klipel, Joice and Kotowska, Martyna M. and Esquivel Muelbert, Adriane and Král, Kamil and La Porta, Nicola}},
issn = {{0028-646X}},
keywords = {{disturbance; forest inventory; forest monitoring; remote sensing; tree dieback}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{6}},
pages = {{2377--2392}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{New Phytologist}},
title = {{Towards a global understanding of tree mortality}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.20407}},
doi = {{10.1111/nph.20407}},
volume = {{245}},
year = {{2025}},
}