New UO (University of Oregon) researcher finds surprise growth in Tibetan forest

[OKIsItJustMe]

https://around.uoregon.edu/content/new-uo-researcher-finds-surprise-growth-tibetan-forest

[font face=Serif][font size=5]New UO researcher finds surprise growth in Tibetan forest[/font]

September 2, 2016 - 3:41pm

[font size=3]Word of mouth from nomadic herders led Lucas Silva into Tibetan forests and grasslands. What his team found was startling: Rapid forest growth in tune with what scientists had been expecting — but not yet seeing — from climatic changes triggered by rising levels of carbon dioxide.

Actual scientific findings to date have turned up declining growths in many forests in the face of a warming climate. Such had also been the case for Silva, who joined the UO's Environmental Studies Program and Department of Geography in August.

On the eastern Tibetan Plateau, in an area where it was thought that "climatically induced ecological thresholds had not yet been crossed," Silva's team found that the increasing availability of soil nutrients and water from thawing permafrost is stimulating the chemistry of the wood in a species of fir trees.

"Our results confirmed the reports of local herders and showed a recent increase in tree growth that has been unprecedented since the year 1760," Silva said. "These result demonstrate that under a specific set of conditions, forests can respond positively to human-induced changes in climate."

…[/font][/font]

http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501302

[2naSalit]

1. I'm sure that

the deniers will misinterpret this as a positive sign of nothing to worry about.