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Prescribed burning is traditionally used to manage heather for grouse shooting across the UK uplands. Until recently it was not possible to map where is burned each year because the burn patches are very small. BAG researchers used new high-resolution satellite images of burn scars from RSPB to estimate fire emissions from the burning. Using a regional air quality model they quantified the impact of prescribed moorland burning on UK fine particulate matter (PM2.5). They isolated a case-study period where wildfires accounted for less than 5% of total burning to target prescribed operations exclusively. They found burning increases daily regional PM2.5 concentrations by 2-16% and burning can expose up to 2.3 million people above WHO 24-hour PM2.5 limits. 34% of the detected burning happens on deep peatlands. The study suggests implementing stricter burning regulations and habitat restoration (such as peatland rewetting) to protect public health and reach net-zero goals.

BAG researchers have led a new study in Nature Climate Change, which underscores tropical deforestation not only as an environmental issue but also as a major public health concern. Using satellite data and mortality models, we show that tropical forest loss between 2001 and 2020 exposed around 345 million people to local surface warming. This warming is associated with an estimated 28,000 annual heat-related deaths across the tropics. Southeast Asia bears the greatest mortality burden, followed by tropical Africa and the Americas. These findings highlight the urgent need for integrated land-use and health policies to protect vulnerable populations from the combined impacts of climate change and deforestation. Special thanks to our collaborators in Brazil and Ghana for their valuable contributions to the work.

Planting trees on a large scale in the UK, as part of pathways to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, could bring substantial changes to biological emissions from our woodlands, but the scale of change and the compounds emitted varies with tree species planted. Research published this week led by Hazel Mooney, a PhD researcher in BAG, uses computer modelling to investigate the interactions between large scale afforestation and biogenic emissions in the UK.

BAG researchers led a new Topical Review on the climate benefits provided by secondary forests in the Amazon. Secondary forests are forests that have regrown on areas of land that were previously deforested. The review highlights some of the major advances in secondary forest research and identifies exciting areas of future work. The work is part of a Focus Issue on Resilience of Tropical Forests and Savannas in the Anthropocene. Special thanks to BAG members Dr Ben Silver and Dr Robin Hayward who contributed figures to the paper, including the synthesis schematic summarising carbon and non-carbon climate benefits of Amazon secondary forests.

In February 2025, BAG researchers hosted an international workshop on modelling forest-climate interactions. Researchers from the UK and Brazil came together to share results on the local and regional climate impacts of Amazon deforestation based on global and regional climate model simulations and atmospheric moisture tracking. With plenty of time for in-depth discussions, the workshop was a chance to strengthen and expand international research collaborations and look ahead to COP30 in Belém, where Amazon deforestation is likely to be high on the agenda.

New paper led by Dr. Ben Silver exposes the severe risk unmitigated climate change poses to temperate rainforests. Under a worst-case scenario, the temperate rainforest biome could reduce by nearly 70% by 2100. The UK and Ireland have the greatest potential for temperate rainforest restoration in the world, highlighting an opportunity for them to become global leaders in restoration and reforestation of this rare ecosystem.

New infographic summarising recent research from BAG providing new insights on the relationship between tropical forests and local climate.