MacKenzie and his colleagues have sent this quiet forest just outside Birmingham into the future – in a manner of speaking. They have pumped carbon dioxide (CO2) around the mature oak trees here in order to simulate the atmosphere that is expected to swathe planet Earth by the year 2050.MacKenzie and his colleagues have been running their experiment for seven years to date, and the results have surprised them. Contrary to some previous analyses, their study suggests that trees can actually absorb more carbon as they age. It's a finding that highlights the immense importance of mature, temperate forests in terms of climate regulation.
What's more, for the first time, MacKenzie and his fellow forest-watchers have also shown that microscopic organisms living on these trees capture methane, another greenhouse gas harmful to the atmosphere. "[We] found the trees are providing another unexpected service for us," says MacKenzie. "The canopy hosts microbes, and these microbes eat the methane. There are lots of reasons to nurture forests.
The findings from Staffordshire indicate trees take up around 25 to 50 million tonnes of atmospheric methane each year, making them 7-12% better for climate than they are currently credited for.
Trees might not be acting in the way we thought - this forest fitted with pipes can tell us why
By simulating the future atmosphere, scientists hope to understand whether trees will continue to act as the lungs of the planet.Katherine Latham (BBC)
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