Earth System Dynamics
Earth System Dynamics
ESD
Articles | Volume 17, issue 5
Articles | Volume 17, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1315-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-17-1315-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 17, issue 5
Research article
 | Highlight paper
 | 
24 Sep 2026
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 24 Sep 2026

Ocean dynamics amplify remote warming effects of reforestation

Pierre Etienne Banville, Alexander J. MacIsaac, and Kirsten Zickfeld

Related authors

Asymmetry in carbon cycle feedbacks and transient climate response under positive and negative CO2 emissions
V. Rachel Chimuka and Kirsten Zickfeld
Biogeosciences, 23, 6211–6228, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-6211-2026,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-6211-2026, 2026
Short summary
Global and Regional Hydroclimatic Responses to Alternative Global Reforestation Pathways
Marzieh Mortezapour, Kirsten Zickfeld, Vivek K. Arora, and Christine Leclerc
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2620,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2620, 2026
Short summary
Indicators of Global Climate Change 2023: annual update of key indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence
Piers M. Forster, Chris Smith, Tristram Walsh, William F. Lamb, Robin Lamboll, Bradley Hall, Mathias Hauser, Aurélien Ribes, Debbie Rosen, Nathan P. Gillett, Matthew D. Palmer, Joeri Rogelj, Karina von Schuckmann, Blair Trewin, Myles Allen, Robbie Andrew, Richard A. Betts, Alex Borger, Tim Boyer, Jiddu A. Broersma, Carlo Buontempo, Samantha Burgess, Chiara Cagnazzo, Lijing Cheng, Pierre Friedlingstein, Andrew Gettelman, Johannes Gütschow, Masayoshi Ishii, Stuart Jenkins, Xin Lan, Colin Morice, Jens Mühle, Christopher Kadow, John Kennedy, Rachel E. Killick, Paul B. Krummel, Jan C. Minx, Gunnar Myhre, Vaishali Naik, Glen P. Peters, Anna Pirani, Julia Pongratz, Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Sophie Szopa, Peter Thorne, Mahesh V. M. Kovilakam, Elisa Majamäki, Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen, Margreet van Marle, Rachel M. Hoesly, Robert Rohde, Dominik Schumacher, Guido van der Werf, Russell Vose, Kirsten Zickfeld, Xuebin Zhang, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, and Panmao Zhai
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 2625–2658, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2625-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-2625-2024, 2024
Short summary
Quantifying land carbon cycle feedbacks under negative CO2 emissions
V. Rachel Chimuka, Claude-Michel Nzotungicimpaye, and Kirsten Zickfeld
Biogeosciences, 20, 2283–2299, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2283-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2283-2023, 2023
Short summary
Indicators of Global Climate Change 2022: annual update of large-scale indicators of the state of the climate system and human influence
Piers M. Forster, Christopher J. Smith, Tristram Walsh, William F. Lamb, Robin Lamboll, Mathias Hauser, Aurélien Ribes, Debbie Rosen, Nathan Gillett, Matthew D. Palmer, Joeri Rogelj, Karina von Schuckmann, Sonia I. Seneviratne, Blair Trewin, Xuebin Zhang, Myles Allen, Robbie Andrew, Arlene Birt, Alex Borger, Tim Boyer, Jiddu A. Broersma, Lijing Cheng, Frank Dentener, Pierre Friedlingstein, José M. Gutiérrez, Johannes Gütschow, Bradley Hall, Masayoshi Ishii, Stuart Jenkins, Xin Lan, June-Yi Lee, Colin Morice, Christopher Kadow, John Kennedy, Rachel Killick, Jan C. Minx, Vaishali Naik, Glen P. Peters, Anna Pirani, Julia Pongratz, Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, Sophie Szopa, Peter Thorne, Robert Rohde, Maisa Rojas Corradi, Dominik Schumacher, Russell Vose, Kirsten Zickfeld, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, and Panmao Zhai
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2295–2327, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2295-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2295-2023, 2023
Short summary
More articles (2)

Cited articles

Alexeev, V. A. and Jackson, C. H.: Polar amplification: is atmospheric heat transport important?, Clim. Dynam., 41, 533–547, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-012-1601-z, 2013. 
Allen, M. R., Frame, D. J., Friedlingstein, P., Gillett, N. P., Grassi, G., Gregory, J. M., Hare, W., House, J., Huntingford, C., Jenkins, S., Jones, C. D., Knutti, R., Lowe, J. A., Matthews, H. D., Meinshausen, M., Meinshausen, N., Peters, G. P., Plattner, G.-K., Raper, S., Rogelj, J., Stott, P. A., Solomon, S., Stocker, T. F., Weaver, A. J., and Zickfeld, K.: Geological Net Zero and the need for disaggregated accounting for carbon sinks, Nature, 1–3, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08326-8, 2024. 
Arora, V. K. and Montenegro, A.: Small temperature benefits provided by realistic afforestation efforts, Nat. Geosci., 4, 514–518, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1182, 2011. 
Banville, P., MacIsaac, A., and Zickfeld, K.: Ocean dynamics amplify remote warming effects of reforestation, Federated Research Data Repository [data set], https://doi.org/10.20383/103.01723, 2026. 
Betts, R. A.: Offset of the potential carbon sink from boreal forestation by decreases in surface albedo, Nature, 408, 187–190, https://doi.org/10.1038/35041545, 2000. 
More articles (55)
Download
Editorial statement
The ocean component of the Earth System response to anthropogenic land cover change has previously received little attention. This paper demonstrates its potential importance, both for scientific understanding and for policies considering reforestation to mitigate climate change.
Read more
Short summary
Reforestation is a key strategy for tackling climate change, but forests influence climate beyond carbon storage, and some effects can cause warming in distant regions, offsetting their cooling benefits. Using a global climate model, we studied how oceans mediate these distant effects over centuries. We found that ocean processes amplify the warming in distant regions, particularly at high latitudes, highlighting the importance of considering the full long-term climate response of reforestation.
Read more
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint