Trees in the northern hemisphere are growing faster now than they were 200 years ago according to a study of trees in eastern America. The trees appear to have accelerated growth rates due to longer growing seasons and higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Scientists have documented the changes to the growth of 55 plots of mixed hardwood forest over a period of 22 years, and have concluded that they are probably growing faster now than they have done at any time in the past 225 years – the age of the oldest trees in the study. Geoffrey Parker, a forest ecologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre in Edgewater, Maryland, said that the increase in the rate of growth was unexpected and might be matched to the higher temperatures and longer growing seasons documented in the region. The growth may also be influenced by the significant increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, he said. Scientists have carried out a detailed census of the trees on a regular basis since 1987, measuring every tree and sapling that has a diameter of more than 2cm (0.78in). They calculated that the forest is producing an additional two tonnes of wood per acre each year, which is equivalent to a tree with a diameter of two feet sprouting up in the space of a year. Higher concentrations of carbon dioxide and extended growing seasons could be favourable for agriculture in some parts of the world, mainly in the northern hemisphere. The extra growth in trees could help to act as a more efficient carbon “sink”, which could offset the carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels. Changes brought on climate change has shown to have a detrimental impact on the environment. This perchance illustrates one of the few benefits climate change has had on our environment.
Phot0 By: John Vlahakis
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