In the Media
Diseased trees new source of greenhouse gas
August 08, 2012
FARS News Agency
Diseased trees in forests may be a significant new source of methane that causes climate change, according to new research. The study was conducted by researchers at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in Geophysical Research Letters.
Sixty trees sampled at Yale Myers Forest in northeastern Connecticut contained concentrations of methane that were as high as 80,000 times ambient levels. Normal air concentrations are less than 2 parts per million, but the Yale researchers found average levels of 15,000 parts per million inside trees.
“These findings suggest decay in living trees is important to biogeochemists and atmospheric scientists seeking to understand global greenhouse gas budgets and associated climate change,” said Covey.
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Keywords: Climate Change, decay, diseased trees, emissions, global warming, methane