Stronger and more frequent wild fires are reducing forests' ability to store carbon in a trend that will likely not be offset by planting new trees, a study said Thursday. Because not all areas are suitable for mass reforestation, and because the long-term impact of fires take decades to gauge, the team said simply replanting the trees would likely fail to offset the reduction in forests' capacity to absorb carbon from the atmosphere.
PARIS, FRANCE Stronger and more frequent wildfires are reducing forests ability to store carbon in a trend that will likely not be offset by planting new trees, a study said Thursday. As Earth continues to heat due to ever higher concentrations of greenhouse gases in its atmosphere, both the number of fires, as well as how fiercely and long they burn, increases. Slower-growing tree species are better at surviving such intense blazes, but they capture less atmospheric carbon and reduce nutrient availability, according to research led by the University of Cambridge. Analyzing decades of data on the impact of fires on ecosystems across the world, the team of experts found that repeated fires were driving long-term changes in forest composition, while reducing their population size.
Fire poses long-term risk to forest carbon sink — study jamaicaobserver.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jamaicaobserver.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Credit: Corli Coetsee More intense and frequent fires are reducing the size of tree communities in many regions of the world. Slower-growing tree species are better at surviving fires, but these may capture less atmospheric carbon and reduce nutrient availability in the soil. Not all regions are suitable for planting trees to tackle climate change; schemes must consider local wildfire frequency, vegetation cover and climate, and how these might change over time.
Researchers have analysed decades worth of data on the impact of repeated fires on ecosystems across the world. Their results, published today in the journal
Nature Ecology and Evolution, show that repeated fires are driving long-term changes to tree communities and reducing their population sizes.