New research out of West Virginia University says trees are now taking up more Carbon Dioxide than ever recorded. And because forests are the planet’s carbon sink, trees all over the world are actually growing larger to keep up with rising CO2. Mixed deciduous forest within the Monongahela National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia 2018
Credit Justin Mathias
What s known as the Gaia theory posits, earth is a self-regulating system with a positive feedback loop that somehow, keeps things in homeostasis or balance.
“We know that CO2 has been building up since the industrial revolution,” says Richard Thomas, professor of biology at WVU. “There s been a 48% increase since then.”
Scientists have long known that trees are essential to human life, making the air we breathe healthier by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis to store energy and
New research from West Virginia University biologists shows that trees around the world are consuming more carbon dioxide than previously reported, making fores
Trees are Consuming More CO2 on a Global Scale than Previously Reported
Written by AZoCleantechFeb 9 2021
A new study by biologists from West Virginia University (WVU) has demonstrated that trees across the globe are absorbing more carbon dioxide compared to previous reports, which makes forests even more significant in controlling Earth’s atmosphere and completely transforming people’s views regarding climate change.
WVU alumnus Justin Mathias holds a tree increment borer to extract tree cores at Gaudineer Knob in West Virginia. Mathias and Richard Thomas, professor of forest ecology and climate change, found that trees are taking in more carbon dioxide than previously thought in a new study. Image Credit: West Virginia University.
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A recently published study in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by renowned Professor Richard Thomas and alumnus Justin Mathias, (BS Biology 13 and Ph.D. Biology 20) has shown astounding revelations about trees in climate change.
(Photo : Zhang Kaiyv)
According to their study, an increase in the efficiency of trees in the use of water has been disclosed to be caused by an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the past centuries. In the words of Professor Thomas, This study highlights the role of forests and their ecosystem in climate change.
In the study, he spoke about the services provided by the forests to the ecosystem, which can be classified into different areas - recreation, timber, and industry. However, what has appeared to be the most important and greatest service to the ecosystem is the forests consumption of large amounts of carbon dioxide globally. He mentioned that where this consumption had not occurred, the carbon dioxid