Ů��С��Ƶ

Skip to content

Environment

Tropical trees grow less in warmer years so they take in less CO2

A 21-year study of a patch of tropical forest shows that the trees produce less wood in years when temperatures are higher, suggesting these forests will mop up less carbon dioxide in future

By Michael Marshall

23 November 2021

P3T3AG Black-mandibled Toucan (Ramphastos ambiguus) in rainforest canopy, La Selva Biological Research Station, Costa Rica — Rainforest canopy near La Selva Biological Research Station in Costa Rica
Greg Basco/ BIA/ Minden Pictures/Alamy

Trees in tropical forests grow more slowly in years when the nights are warmer than average or dry-season days are unusually hot, according to a 21-year study. This suggests such forests will grow less as the world warms due to climate change – potentially taking up less carbon dioxide from the air and exacerbating warming.

“For the first time, we have a window on what a whole tropical forest is doing,” says at the University of Missouri-St Louis. “It is very scary.”

Tropical…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Ů��С��Ƶ events and special offers.

Sign up

or

Existing subscribers

More from New Ů��С��Ƶ

Explore the latest news, articles and features

Life

Oak trees use delaying tactics to thwart hungry caterpillars

News

Cow milking facility

Environment

98 per cent of meat and dairy sustainability pledges are greenwashing

News

Environment

Key ocean current is slowing at locations around the Atlantic

News

Stark photos show quest for profit cutting swathes through the Amazon

Environment

Stark photos show quest for profit cutting swathes through the Amazon

Regulars

1

We have figured out a new way to send messages into the past

2

Human heads have changed shape a lot in the past 100 years

3

Is consciousness more fundamental to reality than quantum physics?

4

Thought-provoking photographs capture what it feels like to have ADHD

5

Smart underwear detects lactose intolerance by tracking your farts

6

Why the keto diet could be a revolutionary way to treat mental illness

7

The 4 biggest myths about hydration, according to an expert

8

An unorthodox version of quantum theory could reveal what reality is

9

Why dinosaurs lived much more complex lives than we thought

10

The rings of Uranus are even stranger than we thought