Soil had been thought of as the only terrestrial sink for methane, but the researchers now show that trees may be as important, perhaps more so.
These results, however, show a remarkable new way in which trees provide a vital climate service.
“The Global Methane Pledge, launched in 2021 at the COP26 climate change summit aims to cut methane emissions by 30 per cent by the end of the decade.
Our results suggest that planting more trees, and reducing deforestation surely must be important parts of any approach towards this goal.”.
The methane absorption was strongest in the tropical forests, probably because microbes thrive in the warm wet conditions found there.
On average the newly discovered methane absorption adds around 10% to the climate benefit that temperate and tropical trees provide.
They also aim to understand more about the microbes themselves, the mechanisms used to take up the methane and will investigate if this atmospheric methane removal by trees can be enhanced. »
