New Study - Trees Absorbing 3.4% Less Carbon Than Assumed In IPCC Modeling

[hatrack]

Trees may not be the planetary saviors people have been counting on in a warming climate. A new study shows that while trees certainly help counteract rising temperatures, they are absorbing 3.4 percent less carbon than had been assumed in models used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports. More CO2 in the atmosphere means more warming.

According to the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, it all comes down to how the trees react to sunlight.

One of the basic assumptions has been that warmer conditions created by climbing levels of the greenhouse gas CO2 would extend the growing period. The longer season would, theoretically, allow trees to absorb more carbon through photosynthesis.

In the first half of the season, that appears to be true. Earlier and warmer springs let trees leaf out sooner. But late in the season, trees can't do much with the extra warmth. Bill Bauerle, an ecophysiologist at Colorado State University and lead author of the study, told InsideClimate News that trees' carbon intake drops way off in late summer and early fall, even when temperatures stay high.

EDIT

http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120523/trees-forests-co2-carbon-photosynthesis-deforestation-wildfires-drought

[Nihil]

1. Yet another "Oops" ...

... in this morning's bucket of cheery environmental news ...