Forests threaten to defect in battle against climate change

Forests could start producing carbon dioxide rather than absorbing the global warming gas because of the rising temperatures caused by climate change.

A study by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) found that forests could belt out swathes of carbon dioxide if global temperatures rise 2.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Forests currently absorb around 25% of global carbon emissions, helping to regulate the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere

However, if global warming continues at its current pace, forests will soon become the enemy in the battle against climate change, rather than being a key ally.

IUFRO’s findings are due to be presented this week at the UN Forum on forests.

Put together by 35 leading forest scientists, the study is the first ever to assess the global impact of climate change upon the world’s forests.

“We normally think of forests as putting the brakes on global warming,” said Professor Risto Seppala of the Finnish Forest Research Institute, and chair of the research panel.

However, “over the next few decades, damage induced by climate change could cause forests to release huge quantities of carbon and create a situation in which they do more to accelerate warming than to slow it down,” Seppala said.

Werner Kurz, senior research scientist for the Canadian Forest Service, explains: “Our research shows there will be many more forest fires, a bigger range of destructive insects - such as the pine beetle - and awful drought like we saw in the Prairies in 2001 to 2003.

“Trees cannot move, therefore as we continue to produce high levels of emission, trees become progressively maladapted and stressed.

“A stressed tree is much more likely to become diseased, infested or burn down.”

The study also points out that the burning and destruction caused by deforestation is currently responsible for around 20% of global carbon emissions.