Spring can come earlier with North American forests, increasing CO2 absorption

(springtime) - Spring may come earlier with North American forests, which increases the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ).

In the next century green plants in the United States may have new spring leaves up to 17 days earlier than before global temperatures began to rise, according to a new study conducted by researchers. rescued from Prince University

Climate control changes can lead to changes in the composition of forests in northeastern America and promote the ability of these forests to absorb carbon dioxide.

Plants play an important role in absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, so researchers led by David Medvigy, assistant professor in Princeton University's Department of Geological Sciences, want to evaluate the prediction. The effect of spring springing when deciduous trees promote new growth after months of hibernation, from models that predict how carbon emissions will affect global temperatures.

The emergence of buds affects the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed each year, but most climate models use a fairly simple program to represent the springing of sprouting in the spring, the wallet model For example, only one tree represents all trees in a geographic area.

In 2012, the research team at Princeton University created a new model based on warming temperatures and the decline of cold days to predict spring spring buds. This model, published in the journal Geophysical Research, proved to be accurate when compared to the actual sprouting data in the northeastern United States.

In the new study published online in Geophysical Research Letters, Medvigy and his colleagues tested the model with a wider set of observations collected by the US national phenology network (post-hoc). The USA National Phenology Network, a nationwide network of ecological tree monitoring, includes federal agencies, educational institutions and researchers and national scientists. The research team combined the 2012 model to predict future sprouts, sprouting based on four possible climate scenarios used in planning tasks carried out by the Intergovernmental Council. about climate change.

The team estimated that, compared to the end of the 20th century, in 2100, red maple trees will sprout up 8 to 40 days earlier than before depending on the location of these trees. They found that the northern parts of the United States would have more pronounced changes than in the south, the biggest changes would occur in the states of Maine, New York, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

The researchers also evaluated how warming temperatures could affect the growing date of different tree species. They found that the growth of leaves turned earlier in the year in plants that sprouted early as poplars (Populus tremuloides) and trees that grew late like red maple (Acer rubrum), but affected bigger on the late sprouting trees and over time the differences in the bud-growing days have narrowed.

Researchers note that the emergence of budging can provide deciduous trees such as oak and a competitive advantage over evergreen trees such as pine and sam.

With deciduous trees growing for a long time of the year, they can begin to exceed the growth rate of evergreen trees, leading to long-term changes in the face of the forests.

Researchers continue to predict that warming will trigger a speed of spring 'green - wave' green waves , or sporadic buds will move from south to north across the continent. throughout the spring.

This finding is also very interesting compared to the view of future changes in spring weather, Medvigy said. Because sprouting causes a sudden change in the speed of pollutants, water and energy that are metabolized between soil and air. According to Medvigy, once the leaves grow, the energy from the sun is increasingly used to evaporate water from the leaves rather than heating the surface. This can lead to changes in the range of daily temperatures, surface humidity, flow, and even nutrient loss from ecosystems.