Trees can mitigate the effects of climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing, and trees are changing in size after absorbing more carbon dioxide. It may not be obvious for a year or two, but today’s trees compared to trees of several decades can see significant changes. According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications, wood volume is increasing in 10 different temperate forest groups in the United States. For the past two decades, US forests have sequestered approximately 70-80 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to 10-11% of annual emissions. The study found that the added volume was equivalent to one extra tree ring. Trees today are 20%-30% larger than they were 30 years ago. The researchers also found that even large, historic trees increased in size as carbon dioxide concentrations increased.
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