How much can forests fight climate change? - Nature

How much can forests fight climate change? - Nature

Gabriel Popkin writes:

"That doesn't mean that all forests cool the planet, however. Researchers have known for decades that tree leaves absorb more sunlight than do other types of land cover, such as fields or bare ground. Forests can reduce Earth's surface albedo, meaning that the planet reflects less incoming sunlight back into space, leading to warming. This effect is especially pronounced at higher latitudes and in mountainous or dry regions, where slower-growing coniferous trees with dark leaves cover light-coloured ground or snow that would otherwise reflect sunlight. Most scientists agree, however, that tropical forests are clear climate coolers: trees there grow relatively fast and transpire massive amounts of water that forms clouds, two effects that help to cool the climate....

"Williams has found that some resist considering albedo effects, including representatives of companies hoping to sell carbon credits for forest projects. 'Even other scientists sometimes have disbelief in the magnitude of the albedo effect, or even its existence,' he says.

"'I have heard scientists say that if we found forest loss cooled the planet, we wouldn't publish it.'"