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Trees Start Emitting Carbon

These trees were killed by a pine bark beetle infestation in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. Drought weakens trees and makes them more susceptible to pest attacks.
These trees were killed by a pine bark beetle infestation in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. Drought weakens trees and makes them more susceptible to pest attacks. Photo: VW Pics (AP)

It seems like an unshakeable fact: Trees absorb CO2 and release oxygen. But a growing body of research is showing just how much drought and climate change can throw that reliable give and take out of whack.

Prolonged dryness slows trees’ growth, making them less effective at taking in carbon, according to a May study published in the journal Science. Simultaneously, drought can make trees far more vulnerable to disease and pest outbreaks, which kill trees en masse, according to another May study published in the journal Ecology Letters.

Counter to living trees, dead trees release CO2 instead of absorbing and storing it. And wildfires, especially, accelerate this process. Prior research has found that drought could lead to 3% less carbon uptake by forests in arid U.S. states like Arizona and Utah. It might not sound like much, but when it comes to combatting climate change, all emissions count.

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