Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Microbes and Climate Change

Microbes and Climate Change

Microorganisms are pivotal agents in Earth's biogeochemical cycles, significantly influencing climate dynamics through their metabolic activities. These microbes modulate the levels of key greenhouse gases by both contributing to and helping mitigate climate change.Microbial Contributions to Greenhouse Gas EmissionsRising global temperatures accelerate microbial metabolism, which, in turn, speeds up the decomposition of organic matter. This process releases carbon dioxide (CO₂) through...

What is Climate?

What is Climate?

Climate refers to the prevailing weather conditions in a specific area over an extended period. As the saying goes, “Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get.” Climate is influenced by geographic factors, such as latitude, terrain, and proximity to bodies of water.

Global Climate Change

Global Climate Change

Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.

Threats to Biodiversity

Threats to Biodiversity

There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...

Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss

Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss

Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.

What is Conservation Biology?

What is Conservation Biology?

Conservation biology is a scientific field that focuses on the preservation of biodiversity in order to protect ecosystems while meeting the needs of the human population. Humans require properly functioning ecosystems to maintain our supply of natural resources, including food, medicines, and building materials.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Three decades of continuous warming in temperate forests destabilizes persistent forms of soil organic matter.

The Science of the total environment·2026

Same author

Bioenergy pathways within United States net zero CO<sub>2</sub> emissions scenarios in the Energy Modeling Forum 37 study.

Energy and climate change·2026

Same author

Transportation in Net-Zero Emissions Futures: Insights from the EMF-37 Model Intercomparison Study.

Energy and climate change·2026

Same author

Tertiary lymphoid structures-driven immune infiltration patterns and their association with survival in neuroblastoma.

PeerJ·2025

Same author

A physically consistent dataset of water-energy-carbon fluxes across the Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum.

Scientific data·2025

Same author

Policy Implications of Net-Zero Emissions: A Multi-Model Analysis of United States Emissions and Energy System Impacts.

Energy and climate change·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 31, 2026

Façade-Level Monitoring of CO2 Variability under Urban Heat Island Conditions using Low-Cost Sensor Data Loggers

Façade-Level Monitoring of CO₂ Variability under Urban Heat Island Conditions using Low-Cost Sensor Data Loggers

Published on: December 12, 2025

Protected areas' role in climate-change mitigation.

Jerry M Melillo¹, Xiaoliang Lu², David W Kicklighter³

¹The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL St., Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA. jmelillo@mbl.edu.

|October 18, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Protected areas globally sequester significant carbon. Climate change and land-use changes threaten this vital ecosystem service, potentially reducing sequestration rates to near zero by 2100.

Keywords:

Carbon sequestration Climate change Global carbon cycle Mitigation Protected areas

More Related Videos

Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration

Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration

Published on: June 7, 2024

Author Spotlight: Unraveling the Role of Earthworms in Enhancing Mineral Weathering for CO2 Removal

Author Spotlight: Unraveling the Role of Earthworms in Enhancing Mineral Weathering for CO2 Removal

Published on: November 10, 2023

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 31, 2026

Façade-Level Monitoring of CO2 Variability under Urban Heat Island Conditions using Low-Cost Sensor Data Loggers

Façade-Level Monitoring of CO₂ Variability under Urban Heat Island Conditions using Low-Cost Sensor Data Loggers

Published on: December 12, 2025

Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration

Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration

Published on: June 7, 2024

Author Spotlight: Unraveling the Role of Earthworms in Enhancing Mineral Weathering for CO2 Removal

Author Spotlight: Unraveling the Role of Earthworms in Enhancing Mineral Weathering for CO2 Removal

Published on: November 10, 2023

Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Climate Science
Ecology

Background:

Protected areas are crucial for ecosystem services, including climate change mitigation.
Globally, 15.5 million km² of land are designated as protected areas.
These areas currently sequester approximately 0.5 Petagrams (Pg) of carbon annually, representing one-fifth of total terrestrial carbon sequestration.

Purpose of the Study:

To estimate the current carbon sequestration capacity of global protected areas.
To project the impact of future climate and land-use change scenarios on protected area carbon sequestration.
To assess the vulnerability of protected areas to climate change and anthropogenic pressures.

Main Methods:

Utilized a global database of protected areas.
Integrated a reconstructed global land-use history.
Employed a global biogeochemistry model and an integrated earth systems model.

Main Results:

Protected areas currently sequester 0.5 Pg C annually.
Under high-end climate change projections, sequestration in protected areas could decrease to 0.3 Pg C by 2100.
Combined rapid climate and land-use change scenarios project conversion of 5.6 million km² of protected areas, with sequestration dropping to near zero by 2100.

Conclusions:

Protected areas play a significant role in global carbon sequestration.
Future climate change and land-use change pose substantial risks to the carbon sequestration function of protected areas.
Urgent conservation strategies are needed to maintain the climate mitigation benefits of protected areas.