Good news for people concerned about climate change: Plants across the world are absorbing 31% more carbon dioxide than previously thought, “according to a new assessment developed by scientists. The research, detailed in the journal Nature, is expected to improve Earth system simulations that scientists use to predict the future climate, and spotlights the importance of natural carbon sequestration for greenhouse gas mitigation.”
Plants are absorbing 157 billion metric tons of carbon per year, well above the prior estimate of 120 billion metric tons that is used in most estimates of Earth’s carbon cycle. A billion metric tons is a lot: it is roughly the amount of carbon dioxide emitted each year from 238 million gas-powered cars.
“Pan-tropical rainforests accounted for the biggest difference between previous estimates and the new figures…The discovery suggests that rainforests are a more important natural carbon sink than previously estimated using satellite data,” reports Technology Networks.
More good news: The amount of vegetation on the Earth has increased every year for the past 30 years. Most of the world’s forests are growing.
Reforestation has greatly mitigated climate change in the southeastern United States.
In the U.S., forest has expanded over the past century due to more efficient agriculture, and the replacement of horses with automobiles. The automobile restored New England’s forests, which had mostly disappeared by 1910, but now cover much of the region. Today, Vermont is 78% forested, but in 1910, it was mostly un-forested.
The central Asian country of Uzbekistan is planting a forest of salt-resistant trees and plants in a desert to reduce salt storms.
