Editing Reforestation (section)

=== Stored carbon being released ===
There is also the risk that, through a [[wildfire|forest fire]] or [[Forest pathology|insect outbreak]], much of the stored carbon in a reforested area could make its way back to the atmosphere.<ref name="Canadell">{{Cite journal |last=Canadell |first=J.G. |author2=M.R. Raupach |date=2008-06-13 |title=Managing Forests for Climate Change |url=http://www.globalcarbonproject.org/global/pdf/canadell%26raupach2008_managingforests.science.pdf |journal=Science |volume=320 |issue=5882 |pages=1456–1457 |bibcode=2008Sci...320.1456C |citeseerx=10.1.1.573.5230 |doi=10.1126/science.1155458 |pmid=18556550 |s2cid=35218793}}</ref> Furthermore, the probability that legacy carbon will be released from soil is higher in younger boreal forests.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Walker |first1=Xanthe J. |last2=Baltzer |first2=Jennifer L. |last3=Cumming |first3=Steven G. |last4=Day |first4=Nicola J. |last5=Ebert |first5=Christopher |last6=Goetz |first6=Scott |last7=Johnstone |first7=Jill F. |last8=Potter |first8=Stefano |last9=Rogers |first9=Brendan M. |last10=Schuur |first10=Edward A. G. |last11=Turetsky |first11=Merritt R. |last12=Mack |first12=Michelle C. |author-link12=Michelle Cailin Mack|title=Increasing wildfires threaten historic carbon sink of boreal forest soils |journal=Nature |date=August 2019 |volume=572 |issue=7770 |pages=520–523 |doi=10.1038/s41586-019-1474-y |pmid=31435055 |bibcode=2019Natur.572..520W |s2cid=201124728 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1474-y |access-date=28 September 2020 |language=en |issn=1476-4687}}</ref> An example of this can be seen in the peatlands in Central Africa, which house an abundance of carbon in the mud called peat. Much like the forest fire or insect outbreak which can harm tropical rainforests, money can also be seen an incentive to harm forests and be paid off to protect it.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Maclean |first=Ruth |date=2022-02-22 |title=What Do the Protectors of Congo's Peatlands Get in Return? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/02/21/headway/peatlands-congo-climate-change.html |access-date=2022-05-16 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The global greenhouse gas emissions caused by damage to tropical rainforests may be underestimated by a factor of six.<ref>{{cite news |title=Climate emissions from tropical forest damage 'underestimated by a factor of six' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/31/climate-emissions-from-tropical-forest-damage-underestimated-by-a-factor-of-six |access-date=28 September 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=31 October 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

Also the possible harvesting and utilization of wood from reforested areas, limits the permanence of carbon sequestered through reforestation. For example, it was found that nearly half of the pledges under the [[Bonn Challenge]] were areas earmarked for commercial wood use.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lewis |first1=Simon L. |last2=Wheeler |first2=Charlotte E. |last3=Mitchard |first3=Edward T. A. |last4=Koch |first4=Alexander |date=April 2019 |title=Restoring natural forests is the best way to remove atmospheric carbon |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=568 |issue=7750 |pages=25–28 |doi=10.1038/d41586-019-01026-8|pmid=30940972 |bibcode=2019Natur.568...25L |s2cid=91190309 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Additionally the effects of afforestation and reforestation will be farther in the future than those of proforestation (the conservation of intact forests).<ref name=":9">{{cite web |title=Why Keeping Mature Forests Intact Is Key to the Climate Fight |url=https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-keeping-mature-forests-intact-is-key-to-the-climate-fight |website=Yale E360 |access-date=28 September 2020}}</ref> It takes much longer − several decades − for the benefits for global warming to manifest to the same [[carbon sequestration]] benefits from mature trees in tropical forests and hence from limiting deforestation.<ref name=":10">{{cite web |title=Would a Large-scale Reforestation Effort Help Counter the Global Warming Impacts of Deforestation? |url=https://blog.ucsusa.org/elliott-negin/would-reforestation-help-counter-deforestation |website=Union of Concerned Scientists |access-date=28 September 2020 |date=1 September 2012}}</ref>

Some researchers note that instead of planting entirely new areas, reconnecting forested areas and restoring the edges of forest, to protect their mature core and make them more resilient and longer-lasting, should be prioritized.<ref name=":11">{{cite web |last1=Mackey |first1=Brendan |last2=Dooley |first2=Kate |title=Want to beat climate change? Protect our natural forests |url=https://theconversation.com/want-to-beat-climate-change-protect-our-natural-forests-121491 |website=The Conversation |date=6 August 2019 |access-date=28 September 2020 |language=en}}</ref>