Contact: Joseph Bonner
Caption: Forests in many regions are becoming larger carbon sinks thanks to higher density, US and European researchers say in a new report. In Europe and North America, increased density significantly raised carbon storage despite little or no expansion of forest area, according to the study, led by Aapo Rautiainen of the University of Helsinki, Finland, and published by the online, open-access journal PLoS One. These photos from the same spot in Finland, taken in 1893 (l) and in 1997 (r) show that while the forest area is the same, the trees are larger in the later photo.
Credit: I.K. Inha (1893) and K.A. Ennola (1997)
Usage Restrictions: None
Related news release: Higher density means world forests are capturing more carbon