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Tropical Forests Have Big Climate Benefits Beyond Carbon Storage

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Tropical Forests Have Big Climate Benefits Beyond Carbon Storage

Study finds that trees cool the planet by one-third of a degree through biophysical mechanisms such as humidifying the air.

Nature,

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A new study finds the climate-cooling benefits of forests extend beyond absorbing and storing CO2.

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As tropical forests disappear from Earth at an alarming rate, scientists clamor to define their essential roles in mitigating global warming. A new study finds that in addition to absorbing CO2, the biophysical aspects of tropical forests, such as humidification, cloud production and organic chemical release, produce massive atmospheric effects. Scientists say people should regard such forests as centerpieces of climate policy, protecting their surrounding communities and the planet as a whole.

Summary

Tropical forests play a critical role in reducing global warming.

Scientists know that tropical forests extract and store carbon dioxide from the air, but a recent study found that those biological actions only account for about two-thirds of their cooling ability. The remaining third lies in their cloud creation function, which humidifies air, and their release of chemicals that further cool the atmosphere. The study shows that these ecosystems have more effects on climate than previously thought.

The study, published in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, may allow scientists to construct more accurate climate models, helping governments to implement stronger conservation strategies.

The new analysis underscores increasing worries about extreme tropic deforestation.

Climatologists say that a third of the...

About the Author

Freda Kreier is a science journalist whose work has appeared in Nature, Science News, The Mercury News and Mongabay.

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