A new estimate of the extent of dryland forests suggests that the global forest cover is at least 9% higher than previously thought. The study , published in the May 12 issue of Science, will help reduce uncertainties surrounding how much carbon dioxide plants absorb from the atmosphere globally. As carbon dioxide is a key driver of climate change, the study's results are important for climate modeling.
Given the vastness of land across the globe, researchers rely on satellite data to estimate the amount of forest cover. Yet dryland biomes — as their name suggests — are arid ecosystems where precipitation is outweighed by evaporation, making them particularly difficult places to spot and measure forests via satellite.