Researchers have found out that forest and trees do not only absorb the carbon dioxide emissions of the world but they cool the Earth in other ways too. The forests also regulate the exchange of energy between the surface and the atmosphere.
The study, which was published in the journal "Nature Climate Change", has stated that lawmakers and legislators should really think about the forest and what they are doing to them. Trees and the forest affect the climate change big time as they affect not only the atmosphere but other parts of the world too, said the authors of an international study. The researchers wanted to know what exactly is it that makes the climate change react that way to the different ecosystems in Earth, Ohio State University reported.
After collecting the meteorological data and the data satellites the scientists found out that there is a big difference between the farming areas and the forested areas. The cooling effects in plain fields are lower than in the areas with trees and in the forest. That was not a surprise for the researchers at all. "Forests play a more important role in cooling the surface in almost all regions of the Earth than was previously thought," said study co-author Kaiguang Zhao, assistant professor of environment modeling and spatial analysis at The Ohio State University. "This really affirms the value of forest conservation and protection policies in the fight against climate change," Zhao added.
What was shocking was the forest and the trees also cool down the mid and lower altitude levels of the Earth as much as how they cool the higher areas, said Phys.org. Additionally, the instrument that was responsible for the cooling of the surface areas is more important than what scientists previously thought. They are every important, especially regarding the sun's energy. Since there is more sun energy in the forest there is also more moisture, said the new study and lead author, Ryan Bright of the Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research.
This new discovery will help the government and local areas to know which part should they plant the crops and which part should be left as a forest. Climate change is faster than ever so maintaining the trees is very important.
