• HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
Friday, March 5, 2021
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • BIOENGINEERING
    • SCIENCE NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • FORUM
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Biology

WVU biologists uncover forests’ unexpected role in climate change

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
February 8, 2021
in Biology
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

IMAGE

Credit: West Virginia University

New research from West Virginia University biologists shows that trees around the world are consuming more carbon dioxide than previously reported, making forests even more important in regulating the Earth’s atmosphere and forever shift how we think about climate change.

In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Professor Richard Thomas and alumnus Justin Mathias (BS Biology, ’13 and Ph.D. Biology, ’20) synthesized published tree ring studies. They found that increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the past century have caused an uptick in trees’ water-use efficiency, the ratio of carbon dioxide taken up by photosynthesis to the water lost by transpiration – the act of trees “breathing out” water vapor.

“This study really highlights the role of forests and their ecosystems in climate change,” said Thomas, interim associate provost for graduate academic affairs. “We think of forests as providing ecosystem services. Those services can be a lot of different things – recreation, timber, industry. We demonstrate how forests perform another important service: acting as sinks for carbon dioxide. Our research shows that forests consume large amounts of carbon dioxide globally. Without that, more carbon dioxide would go into the air and build up in the atmosphere even more than it already is, which could exacerbate climate change. Our work shows yet another important reason to preserve and maintain our forests and keep them healthy.”

Previously, scientists have thought that trees were using water more efficiently over the past century through reduced stomatal conductance – meaning trees were retaining more moisture when the pores on their leaves began closing slightly under rising levels of carbon dioxide.

However, following an analysis using carbon and oxygen isotopes in tree rings from 1901 to 2015 from 36 tree species at 84 sites around the world, the researchers found that in 83% of cases, the main driver of trees’ increased water efficiency was increased photosynthesis – they processed more carbon dioxide. Meanwhile, the stomatal conductance only drove increased efficiency 17% of the time. This reflects a major change in how trees’ water efficiency has been explained in contrast to previous research.

“We’ve shown that over the past century, photosynthesis is actually the overwhelming driver to increases in tree water use efficiency, which is a surprising result because it contradicts many earlier studies,” Mathias said. “On a global scale, this will have large implications potentially for the carbon cycle if more carbon is being transferred from the atmosphere into trees.”

Since 1901, the intrinsic water use efficiency of trees worldwide has risen by approximately 40% in conjunction with an increase of approximately 34% in atmospheric carbon dioxide. Both of these characteristics increased approximately four times faster since the 1960s compared to the previous years.

While these results show the rise in carbon dioxide is the main factor in making trees use water more efficiently, the results also vary depending on temperature, precipitation and dryness of the atmosphere. These data can help refine models used to predict the effects of climate change on global carbon and water cycles.

“Having an accurate representation of these processes is critical in making sound predictions about what may happen in the future,” Mathias said. “This helps us get a little closer to making those predictions less uncertain.”

The study is a product of the researchers’ seven-year research collaboration during Mathias’ time as a doctoral student. After graduating from WVU, Mathias joined University of California, Santa Barbara as a postdoctoral researcher.

“Since moving to California, my work has taken a turn from being in the field, collecting measurements, analyzing data and writing manuscripts,” Mathias said. “My new position is more focused on ecological theory and ecosystem modeling. Instead of measuring plants, I form hypotheses and seek out answers to questions using computer models and math.”

In the future, Mathias aspires to become a professor at a research university to continue these research pursuits.

“I would love to run my own lab at a university, mentor graduate students and pursue research questions to continue building on the work we’ve already accomplished. There’s been a lot of progress in our field. There are also an infinite number of questions that are relevant moving forward,” Mathias said. “I owe everything to my time and training from the people at WVU. My long-term goal is to be in a position where I can continue moving the field forward while giving back through teaching and mentoring students.”

###

Media Contact
Katlin Swisher
[email protected]

Original Source

https://wvutoday.wvu.edu/stories/2021/02/08/wvu-biologists-uncover-forests-unexpected-role-in-climate-change

Tags: Climate ChangeEarth ScienceEcology/Environment
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

IMAGE

What can stream quality tell us about quality of life?

March 5, 2021
IMAGE

Species traded legally through Hong Kong with inadequate traceability

March 5, 2021

Switzerland’s energy transition

March 5, 2021

‘Falling insect’ season length impacts river ecosystems

March 5, 2021

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

POPULAR NEWS

  • IMAGE

    Terahertz accelerates beyond 5G towards 6G

    667 shares
    Share 267 Tweet 167
  • People living with HIV face premature heart disease and barriers to care

    84 shares
    Share 34 Tweet 21
  • Global analysis suggests COVID-19 is seasonal

    38 shares
    Share 15 Tweet 10
  • HIV: an innovative therapeutic breakthrough to optimize the immune system

    36 shares
    Share 14 Tweet 9

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Tags

Climate ChangeGeneticsEcology/EnvironmentMedicine/HealthTechnology/Engineering/Computer ScienceBiologyChemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesInfectious/Emerging DiseasesCell BiologycancerPublic HealthMaterials

Recent Posts

  • Study reveals how egg cells get so big
  • Survey identifies factors in reducing clinical research coordinator turnover
  • New ‘split-drive’ system puts scientists in the (gene) driver seat
  • Online dating: Super effective, or just… superficial?
  • Contact Us

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

© 2019 Bioengineer.org - Biotechnology news by Science Magazine - Scienmag.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In