Posted on October, 21 2014

Tropical forests are not only a major source of natural resources, but also a key mechanism to reduce global warming. This is mainly due to their potential to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it, thus becoming one of the largest natural carbon stocks. However, forests have been significantly reduced due to increasing deforestation worldwide, causing more CO2 levels in the atmosphere to rise.

It is important to value forests because of their key role in carbon sequestration and storage, and regulating the carbon cycle balance in the globe. However, understanding how this cycle works is not widely known, particularly due to complexity and lack of training.

This manual aims to provide a basic overview of carbon, biomass, measurement and monitoring of carbon flows stored in our forests in order to further understand its importance to reducing climate change by maintaining ‘standing forests.’