The forests could switch from a carbon sink to a carbon source by the mid-2030s.
forests
New England Forests Were Historically Shaped by Climate, Not People
A first-of-its-kind study combining paleoecology and archeology indicates that the New England landscape was not actively managed with fire prior to European arrival.
The Future of the Carbon Cycle in a Changing Climate
Surface and space-based observations, field experiments, and models all contribute to our evolving understanding of the ways that Earth’s many systems absorb and release carbon.
Forests Respond to Volcanic Emissions
Researchers propose using volcanoes to study forests and forests to study volcanoes.
Hurricanes Hit Puerto Rico’s Mangroves Harder Than Florida’s
The scale and pattern of damage to the Puerto Rican forests suggest a complex interplay between wind, land, and sea.
Satellite Measurements of Stratospheric Forest Fire Smoke
Intense boreal forest fires in August 2017 caused smoke plumes that reached record levels in the stratosphere; satellite measurements show that the effects rivaled a moderate volcanic eruption.
How Forest Structure Influences the Water Cycle
New research looks at how changes in the arrangement of trees and canopy thickness influence the transport of water from the land surface to the atmosphere.
Resilient Peatlands Keep Carbon Bogged Down
Boreal peatlands contain some of the world’s largest reservoirs of soil carbon, and new research suggests some peatlands may hold on to that carbon even as the climate changes.
Foretelling Forest Death from Above
A satellite-based early-warning signal may spot the start of a forest’s decline and give forest managers more time to save its life.
Tropical Forests May Have More Canopy Than Previously Thought
A rare attempt to directly estimate leaf area in a tropical African broadleaved forest suggests that there may be more tree foliage than previously estimated.