“A recently published study analyzed 30 years of Amazonian tree records and found that trees in the Amazon are getting bigger thanks to higher levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Bigger trees are better trees: better at capturing carbon, better at surviving forest fires, and better habitats for other species,” reports The Doomslayer.
The Guardian adds:
The biggest trees in the Amazon are growing larger and more numerous, according to a new study that shows how an intact rainforest can help draw carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and sequester it in bark, trunk, branch and root.
Scientists said the paper, published in Nature Plants on Thursday, was welcome confirmation that big trees are proving more climate resilient than previously believed, and undisturbed tropical vegetation continues to act as an effective carbon sink despite rising temperatures and strong droughts.
However, the authors warned this vital role was increasingly at risk from fires, fragmentation and land clearance caused by the expansion of roads and farms.
‘It is good news but it is qualified good news,’ said Prof Oliver Phillips from the University of Leeds. ‘Our results apply only to intact, mature forests, which is where we are watching closely. They suggest the Amazon forest is remarkably resilient to climate change. My fear is that may count for little, unless we can stop the deforestation itself.’
Most of the world’s forests are expanding. The amount of vegetation on the Earth has increased for each of the last 30 years.
Robots with artificial intelligence will reduce the need for weed-killer and pesticides by more precisely targeting weeds and pests. That will cut farmers’ costs, and radically reduce the size of the crop chemical industry, because robots will use up to 90% less spray to kill the same number of weeds and pests. Some robots using artificial intelligence can identify and kill 100,000 weeds per hour.
A very healthy coral reef is nestled among offshore oil platforms.
Fish species rebounded off the coast of California due to their young finding a sanctuary in abandoned oil rigs.
