Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

ellenrr

(3,864 posts)
Sat Jan 3, 2015, 10:58 AM Jan 2015

As Carbon Dioxide Grows, Tropical Trees Do Not

Trees are definitely our allies when it comes to taking in greenhouse gases and thus aiding in the fight against climate change. But new research suggests that forests might not be quite as helpful as we'd hoped.

Computer models that predict how climate change will play out assume that as greenhouse gas concentrations go up, forests will take advantage of the additional carbon dioxide and grow a bit more, increasing their capacity to mitigate global warming.

But after analyzing tens of thousands of tree rings taken from tropical forests in Bolivia, Cameroon and Thailand, an international team of scientists is calling this assumption into question. Their research, published yesterday in the journal Nature Geoscience, found no correlation between increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations over the past 150 years and forest growth as evidenced in trees' rings.

Tropical forests "are very important carbon stocks," said lead author Peter van der Sleen of Wageningen University's Forest Ecology and Management Group in Wageningen, Netherlands. But, van der Sleen said, his research does call into question tropical forests' capacity to mitigate climate change.

This finding has the potential to change our climate predictions, explained Lucas Cernusak of the College of Marine and Environmental Sciences at James Cook University in Cairns, Australia.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/as-carbon-dioxide-grows-tropical-trees-do-not/

1 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
As Carbon Dioxide Grows, Tropical Trees Do Not (Original Post) ellenrr Jan 2015 OP
Not a huge surprise. Growth may be limited by availability of crucial minerals in the soil. eppur_se_muova Jan 2015 #1

eppur_se_muova

(36,227 posts)
1. Not a huge surprise. Growth may be limited by availability of crucial minerals in the soil.
Sat Jan 3, 2015, 01:29 PM
Jan 2015

When tropical forest is burned for slash-and-burn agriculture, the minerals are exhausted after only 1-2 years of growing crops.

We think of rainforest as lush, luxuriant, fast-growing, but it's supported on a thin base of rather fragile soil.

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Environment & Energy»As Carbon Dioxide Grows, ...