[News] Rapid Increases in Tree Growth Found in US

[Moontanman]

Rapid Increases in Tree Growth Found in US

 

ScienceDaily (Mar. 22, 2010) — Researchers from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Earthwatch met in Panama from Mar. 1-5 to present mid-term research results from the HSBC Climate Partnership, a five-year initiative to identify and respond to the impacts of climate change. The program is supported financially by HSBC and involves a global team of bank employees -- 'climate champions' -- in vital forest research.

 

Rapid increases in tree growth found in US

[Knothead]

I know it's simplistic of me but isn't it good news that the trees are growing faster? Isn't it just nature balancing things out?

Now if we could get all the people to work with nature by taking responsibility in their own lives maybe we could put things right.

[maikeru]

Yes and no. Faster tree growth may mean more biomass produced, which draws CO2 out of the air and locks it away for a time, but if temperatures are rising, even a bit, this may lead to increased rates of decomposition, soil activity, tree deaths, spread of disease, wildfires, pests, etc. Things like increased decomposition or wildfires can lead to more CO2, CH4, NO2, etc. emissions depending on source and conditions. Also, longer or erratic growing seasons throw the timing of plants and their reproduction off, which will favor and disfavor different species of plants, and may lead to changes in animals present or animal abundance and occurrence. And finally we should keep in mind that humans are cutting down forests around the globe faster than the trees can grow or act as good carbon sinks, and we may farm or mine an area or turn it to desert through overfarming, grazing, development, etc., all of which are major CO2-generating activities. In short, it's probably good that trees are growing faster, but the circumstances which they're doing it under might not be so ideal...

 

I think globally the world is losing its ability to buffer and correct rising levels of CO2. It's done a pretty good job already. Would be doing a better job if we didn't destroy forests, grasslands, and the seas. I wonder how the world will fare with 8 or 9 billion of us crawling on it...or if we'll even make it that far before the ship sinks.

[Knothead]

I am hopeful that awareness is spreading. Albeit slowly.

If a 50 some odd year old like me can learn and radically alter his behavior to take responsibility in his own life. There is a chance that we can turn the ship around.

Nature will do her part and is. Since man is just a part of nature, I imagine that she will take care of us (not in a good way) unless we take steps of our own to change.

But then again, it may already be too late for any gentle solutions.

[maikeru]

Slowly but sometimes it feels too slow. I didn't used to be an environmentalist. It gradually it dawned on me that what we were doing, what we are doing, and what we will do is wrong. We live in a world where innumerable connections sustain and nourish us and all species. Life is resilient, yes, but also fragile.

[Turtle]

rapid tree growth? is that longer branches? more leaves? wider trunk? :shrug: without specificity, this kind of declaration is next to worthless. a tree, for example, may grow more rapidly in girth, but produce wood of lower density. stories from Science Daily lack scientific rigor and mislead at best.

[maikeru]

That's true too, Turtle.

[clapstyx]

I'd like to think that the 50 something percent of forests that have been lost since the second world war could regrow but its hard to imagine unless the per capita consumption rate is less than what it has been so that the population growth is balanced out in the equation. I believe there are too many prejudices against us ever being THAT resourceful and I think we will burn out our synapses trying. I say that from self experience. We are not a culture that cherishes the process of recovery.

[Getting A Life]

I never cared for anything or so I thought, now I'm studying ecology and I'm engaged, enthused and passionate about our planet.

 

The young folks today are a lot smarter when it comes to sustainability. I have hope for our future, and marvel at the change in the general populations mindset this past decade.

 

It's our corporate leaders who will screw everything up, these archaic old fashioned freaks with nothing on their minds but growth.

 

Another word for growth is tumor.