Trees are known for absorbing CO2. But microbes in their bark also absorb other climate-active gases, methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide.
Trees are known for capturing carbon dioxide as they grow. But they also soak up other gases implicated in climate change through microbes in their bark. Methane is a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period.
Trees are known for capturing carbon dioxide as they grow. But they also soak up other gases implicated in climate change through microbes in their bark.. Methane is a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. Carbon monoxide — which is lethal to humans — and hydrogen enhance global warming indirectly, by helping methane persist longer in the atmosphere.Getting rid of these gases “is a hidden benefit of trees that we previously didn’t realize was happening,” says Luke Jeffrey, a biogeochemist at Southern Cross University in Lismore, Australia. An estimated 41 million square kilometers of tree bark exist worldwide — about equal to the combined area of North and South America, and about six trillion microbes inhabit every square meter of tree bark, Jeffrey and his colleagues estimate. This newly discovered bark microbiome was “hidden in plain sight,” says Jonathan Gewirtzman, a forest ecologist at Yale University, who was not part of the project. It “highlights this as an environment that we know so little about.” These discoveries about the hidden tree bark biome stem from years of research into the sources of methane, which is responsible for about 30 percent of human-caused warming. This gas bubbles up from oxygen-starved microbes living in the waterlogged sediments of lakes and wetlands. Tree bark is populated with microbes that consume several important climate gases, including methane, hydrogen and carbon monoxide.When scientists measured methane percolating up from the flooded lowlands of the Amazon, the amount coming out was only about half what it should be, based on measurements from space. Then in 2017, another team of scientists realized that only half of region’s methane was coming out of the ground. The other half — amounting to 15 or 20 million metric tons per year —People thought the trees were acting as passive chimneys — gushing out soil methane that came in through their roots. But in 2021, Jeffrey and his colleagues discovered a wrinkle.) in Australia, the team found that the amount of methane coming out of tree bark was about 35 percent less than what enters from below. They concluded that“That could be a really huge ecosystem service that these microbes are providing” by removing a major greenhouse gas, says Pok Man Leung, an ecophysiologist at Monash University in Clayton, Australia. He and Chris Greening, a microbiologist also at Monash, helped identify the microbes living in the bark of those trees. In the latest study, Jeffrey, Leung, Greening and colleagues profiled the collective genomes of thousands of microbial species living in paper bark trees and seven other common tree species in Australia. The researchers found that microbes that oxidize hydrogen gas for energy were even more common than the methane-eaters. Microbes that oxidize carbon monoxide were also abundant.Experiments in live trees showed that bark microbes don’t just eat these gases as they diffuse up through the trees; they also suck in methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide from the surrounding air. These gases exist in the atmosphere at only trace levels, ranging from 2 parts per million to 40 parts per billion. But multiplied across the entire world, tree microbes are consuming vast amounts of them –By removing these other climate gases, tree bark microbes enhance the already significant benefits trees provide by absorbing COForest restoration remains an important strategy for combating climate change, and this new knowledge could make it more effective. The eight tree species examined in this study had differing mixes of microbes in their bark, eating different amounts of trace gases. This insight could help scientists select the tree species best suited to blunt climate change. “You’re not just thinking about the tree you’re planting, but also the microbes within the tree,” Greening says. “You can ideally get rid of three or four climate-active gases for the price of one.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Nick Saban vs. Bear Bryant: Comparing Alabama’s legendary coaching treesAll 4 coaches in CFP semifinals once worked for Saban
Read more »
Woman crashes into trees after robbing Leeds Chick-fil-A, gambling with stolen money, police sayOfficers say Kaudija Shondrelle Haynes, 32, of Birmingham used mace while in the drive-thru and told an employee to give her the bag with the money in it.
Read more »
In Uncertain Times, Ask These Questions Before You Make a DecisionThey can reveal faulty assumptions, hidden opportunities, and what’s really within your control.
Read more »
DreamWeek San Antonio returns with focus on hidden stories and unsung heroesSAN ANTONIO - San Antonio is dreaming of revelations as the city gears up to celebrate DreamWeek.DreamWeek San Antonio is an annual summit dedicated to celebr
Read more »
California’s hidden jobs tax was no accidentThat California stands alone as the only delinquent state is not merely a travesty—it is a stark indictment of budget and priority mismanagement.
Read more »
Urban Growers Collective continues holiday tradition of feeding recyclced Christmas trees to goatsIt's the time of year when holiday decorations are coming down, and in Chicago, there's a unique way to recycle your Christmas tree: hungry goats on an urban farm on the South Side.
Read more »