Charcoal is a key energy source for urban households in sub-Saharan Africa and charcoal production is the main cause of forest degradation across the region. We used multitemporal high-resolution remote sensing optical imagery to quantify the extent and intensity of forest degradation associated with charcoal production and its impact on forest carbon stocks for the main supplying area of an African capital. This analysis documents the advance of forest degradation and quantifies its aboveground biomass removals over a seven-year period, registering that, between 2013 and 2016, the average annual area under charcoal production was 103 km² and the annual aboveground biomass removals reached 1081 000 (SD = 2461) Mg. Kiln densities in the study area rose to 2 kilns-ha, with an average of 90.7 Mg ha⁻¹ of extracted aboveground biomass. Charcoal production was responsible for the degradation of 55.5% of the mopane woodlands in the study area between 2013 and 2019. We estimated post-disturbance recovery times using an ecosystem model calibrated for the study area. The simulations showed that recovery times could require up to 150 years for current aboveground biomass extraction rates. The results of the remote sensing analysis and the simulations of the ecosystem model corroborate the unsustainability of the present patterns of charcoal production. The detailed characterization of the spatial and temporal patterns of charcoal production was combined with household survey information to quantify the impact of the urban energy demand of the Maputo urban area on forest carbon stocks. The analysis shows that Maputo charcoal demand was responsible for the annual degradation of up to 175.3 km² and that the contribution of the study area to this demand fluctuated between 75% and 33% over the study period. The extent, advance pace and distance from urban centers documented in this study support the idea that forest degradation from charcoal production cannot merely be considered a peri-urban process. The intensity of the aboveground biomass (AGB) removals and its contribution to forest carbon stocks changes is significant at the national and regional levels.

木炭是撒哈拉以南非洲城市家庭的主要能源，木炭生产是该地区森林退化的主要原因。我们使用多时相高分辨率遥感光学图像来量化与木炭生产相关的森林退化的程度和强度及其对非洲首都主要供应区森林碳储量的影响。该分析文档森林退化的推进和超过7年的时间量化其地上生物量清除，登记的是，2013年和2016年之间，在木炭生产年平均面积为103公里²，年地上生物量清除达到1081 000（ SD = 2461) 镁。研究区窑密度上升至2窑公顷，平均90.7毫克公顷^-1提取的地上生物量。2013 年至 2019 年间，木炭生产导致研究区 55.5% 的莫帕尼林地退化。我们使用针对研究区校准的生态系统模型估计了扰乱后的恢复时间。模拟表明，对于当前的地上生物量提取率，恢复时间可能需要长达 150 年。遥感分析的结果和生态系统模型的模拟证实了目前木炭生产模式的不可持续性。木炭生产时空格局的详细特征与住户调查信息相结合，以量化马普托市区的城市能源需求对森林碳储量的影响。²并且研究区域对这一需求的贡献在研究期间在 75% 到 33% 之间波动。本研究中记录的距离城市中心的程度、前进速度和距离支持了这样一种观点，即木炭生产造成的森林退化不能仅仅被视为城市周边的过程。地上生物量 (AGB) 清除的强度及其对森林碳储量变化的贡献在国家和区域层面具有重要意义。