Reply to Skole et al.: Regarding high-resolution carbon stocks and emissions in the Amazon

Skole et al. (1) claim that we do not make a case for high-resolution carbon stock and emissions mapping in tropical forests. Specifically, they argue that (i) our Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 1 estimates for the Peruvian Amazon study are biased, (ii) our plot-level carbon estimates used to calibrate airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) are flawed, and (iii) our regional mapping of carbon stocks is low compared with a their estimate using field data from a previous local-scale study. However, their critique is based on misstatements about our methods and a misunderstanding of carbon stock variation throughout the region.