Abstract

The temporal dynamics of aboveground woody biomass across the landscape is one of the most uncertain aspects of the global carbon cycle. Previous studies suggest that the forests and savannas of Africa act as a sink of biomass carbon, while others indicate that it might already be turning into a source. In this study we analysed continental-wide biomass dynamics using a time-series of aboveground biomass maps for the 2007 to 2017 period. We developed these maps at a spatial resolution of 100m using LiDAR, SAR and multispectral spaceborne sensors within a machine-learning framework. Our results show that the aboveground biomass stocks in Africa were 120.5 Pg. At the same time, we can observe a continuous increase in the annual rate of biomass loss in the continent due to the increasing deforestation rates occurring in the Congo Basin.