Study shows that established forests respond to increased CO₂ levels with increased production of “woody biomass”
Mature forests can effectively absorb CO₂ from the atmosphere. This is the result of a scientific study by the University of Birmingham, which refutes previous theories.
The study, based on data from the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research, challenges the previous assumption that older trees are unable to respond to increased CO₂ levels, the researchers say.
Their experiment found that the trees in the BIFoR forest responded to increased CO₂ emissions – an increase of about 40 percent compared to the ambient air – by increasing their wood production by an average of 9.8 percent over a period of seven years.
BIFoR’s 52-hectare woodland in central England is dominated by pedunculate oaks, 92 percent of which are over 180 years old. According to the study, forest biomass growth under elevated CO₂ conditions was 9.7 percent higher than under ambient conditions in 2021 and 11.5 percent higher in 2022.
Significantly, the researchers found that the increase in the production of “woody biomass” was not accompanied by an increase in the production of leaves or fine roots, which release CO₂ into the atmosphere relatively quickly. Therefore, the carbon will remain “stored in the ecosystem for many decades,” the study says.
The research shows “the role of mature, long-standing forests as a natural climate solution in the coming decades as society seeks to reduce its dependence on carbon,” said Richard Norby, lead author of the study and a professor at the University of Birmingham, in an accompanying statement.
However, BIFoR Director and Professor Rob MacKenzie stressed: “Even if increased tree growth leads to an increase in carbon storage in forests in the medium term, this is in no way a reason to delay the reduction of fossil fuel consumption.”
The BIFoR experiment will continue into the 2030s to analyse long-term responses to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
You can read the study here.
Caption: Research shows ancient forests play role as ‘natural climate solution’ in carbon transition, says BIFoR
