By Nathan Roberts, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China & Abishek Harihar, PhD, Panthera Tiger Program Director
We know managing carbon is critical for mitigating climate change. But when we think about carbon, tigers might not be the first things to come to mind. These wild cats, though, play a bigger role in forest ecosystems — and the carbon cycle — than you might think!
In our new study published in Global Change Biology, we found that tigers not only act as indicators about the state of a forest’s carbon levels, but also play an important role in maintaining them. Depending on the ecosystems, tigers can help forests retain carbon and also improve our understanding of the carbon cycle.
In general, there is recognition that large carnivore conservation can have cascading effects on ecosystems.
For example, previous research in northeast China has demonstrated that animal abundance is correlated with tree density and size. This got us wondering about other ways apex predators, like tigers, might impact vegetation in these landscapes and how their presence might influence the ways trees and other plants store or release carbon dioxide. How would forests that have tigers differ from forests without tigers in their capacity for carbon storage and sequestration? How would any differences affect forests’ roles as nature-based solutions to climate change across the global tiger range? Are tigers simply passive indicators of carbon, or are they active drivers of forest carbon cycles?
We set out to find the answers to these questions by comparing carbon measurements, vegetation, and other variables in different landscapes where tigers currently live and where they used to roam.
We found that, generally, forests with tigers store more carbon than forests without tigers.
While it can vary greatly by landscape, tigers generally have a guardian effect on forests. They help forests store more carbon and emit less carbon from deforestation.
Tiger protection in forests globally reduced annual carbon dioxide emissions by around 9 percent, relative to if tigers were lost. Carbon dioxide removals from the atmosphere were around 28 percent higher in forests with tigers than we would expect if these forests lost their tigers.
The tiger-carbon connection plays out in several important ways:
In more degraded forests, tigers act as apex predators, keeping deer and other herbivores in check. When overgrazing is limited, forests regenerate more fully, storing more carbon in tree trunks, branches and leaves. In this case, the tiger-prey-carbon balance is key — because prey need protecting, too!
In healthier forests, tiger presence signals stronger ecosystems. These landscapes are rich in prey animals and plant biomass and are inherently capable of storing large amounts of carbon — natural carbon vaults hiding in plain sight.
But there’s more. Tiger conservation areas are often the best-protected forests in Asia. With dedicated funding, monitoring and legal safeguards, these places are less vulnerable to deforestation. In fact, a 2023 study found that deforestation in some regions quadrupled after losing tigers in the early 2000s. Protecting tigers helps protect forest landscapes.
The relationship between tigers and carbon isn’t always straight-forward. Other animals and plants in an ecosystem affect carbon storage, too!
In general, our research suggests that the amount of carbon a forest holds is likely linked to the size of its resident tiger population, but this can vary drastically across different habitats. This is an important area for future research.
Over 700,000 square kilometers of forest across Asia — an area twice the size of Germany — have been emptied of tigers due to poaching, habitat loss and conflict. If these areas had retained their tiger populations and the protection that comes with them, they could have:
The importance of this research lies in its ability to bridge biodiversity conservation with climate change mitigation objectives.
This study doesn’t suggest tigers are magical carbon capturers. But it does affirm something we’ve long believed: tiger conservation and climate goals are not separate efforts — they’re two sides of the same coin. From a policy perspective, recognizing tiger landscapes as dual biodiversity–carbon assets can inform forest management strategies, climate finance mechanisms, and national commitments to both the Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement.
Every tiger saved is a step toward stabilizing the climate. Every forest protected with tigers living within it is a fortress against carbon loss. Research like this is a reminder that saving wildlife and saving our planet are deeply connected missions. Apex predators like tigers play a vital role in maintaining ecosystem health and carbon storage, making a strong case for comprehensive conservation strategies that recognize and utilize wildlife’s ecosystem service values to solve social and ecological problems.
Want to make a difference for tigers? Here’s what you can do to help:
Because when we protect tigers, we protect the planet. And that benefits every living being on Earth. Learn more about our work to protect tigers or read this op-ed about the Vietnam War’s enduring effect on the tiger trade by Panthera's Rob Pickles.
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© Sebastian Kennerknecht
