Aspen trees starved in global warming experiment
Source: Hemscott (Original Article)
PELLSTON, Mich. (AP) - Chain saws scream in a northern Michigan forest, but
it's not the familiar sound of lumberjacks.
This time the tree killers are environmental researchers. They hope that years
from now the aspens they remove will be replaced with a healthy mix of maples,
oaks, beeches and pines — which should soak up more carbon dioxide from an ever
warmer world.
The scientists hope to take a 100-acre section of the University of Michigan
Biological Station research forest closer to the state it was in before logging,
when it was dominated by different species of trees instead of the present-day
aspens.
They say the experiment is the first they're aware of that involves removing
large numbers of trees to promote growth of other species that will boost carbon
absorption. It comes as governments and businesses around the world look for
economically feasible ways to limit climate change.
Carbon dioxide makes up more than 80 percent of the human-produced U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, the Department of
Energy says.
Scientists believe a diverse woodland will hold more carbon because it will be
richer in nitrogen and use sunlight more efficiently. Both are key factors in
photosynthesis, during which carbon is absorbed, said Christoph Vogel, a
University of Michigan forest ecologist.
'We've been managing forests for lumber or pulp, or perhaps as habitat for deer
or quail,' said project leader Peter Curtis, an Ohio State University forest
ecologist. 'Many economists think that managing them for carbon will be a fact
of life in the not-too-distant future.'
Skeptics question forests' long-term reliability for sequestering carbon. They
can be cut down, burned or destroyed by disease or insects. Also, it's hard to
measure their storage capacity, said Jonathan Pershing, Frequent Flyer Credit Cards climate and energy
program director for …continue reading