Australian ecologists from Western Sydney University examined the ability of trees to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, taking into account new knowledge about plant physiology. They concluded that forests have greater potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than previously thought. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Science Advances (SciAdv).
“We found that a well-established climate model used for global climate projections by organizations such as the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts stronger and more persistent carbon sequestration by the end of the 21st century, when forcing becomes widespread within some critical climate events related to the physiological processes that control photosynthesis.” is located.
“We took into account aspects such as how efficiently carbon dioxide can move inside the leaf, how plants adapt to temperature changes and how the flora distributes nutrients to their crowns in the most economical way,” said Jürgen Knauer, head of the scientific group.
The authors tested different versions of the model that differed in complexity and realistic description of plant physiological processes. The simplest version ignored three critical mechanisms involved in photosynthesis, while the most complex version included these mechanisms.
The results showed that advanced models consistently predicted increases in vegetation carbon sequestration around the world. The processes considered reinforced each other.
However, the study’s authors emphasize that this in no way means that world governments can abandon their commitments to reduce carbon emissions.
Planting more trees and preserving existing vegetation is not a panacea, environmentalists said, but scientific studies highlight the many benefits of preserving vegetation.
Previous scientists I learnedWhich forests are best at removing carbon emissions from the atmosphere.