Research from University College London (UCL) suggests that the carbon sequestration capacity of UK woodlands is potentially double that of previous estimates.The new research infers that UK forests could store around double the amount of carbon that previous calculations suggest, potentially revealing novel ways to combat climate change.However, whilst our finding that the carbon storage capacity of typical UK woodland could be nearly double what we previously thought might seem like a purely positive outcome, in practice, this means that for every ha of woodland lost, we’re potentially losing almost twice the carbon sink capacity we thought.“It’s vital that we’re able to reduce uncertainty in forest carbon estimates, given that land use and forest protection and restoration, in particular, constitute a quarter of countries’ current commitments to their Paris Agreement targets.”The UK’s biomass stock reporting to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN is currently based on these allometric models, which has likely caused the inaccuracies.This research shows how new approaches can yield surprises in even well-studied forests, with profound consequences for our understanding of forests and their role in tackling climate change that apply across the UK and beyond.”"