Trees’ ability to store carbon in doubt after groundbreaking Australian study

The ability of trees to offset carbon emissions has been questioned after a Western Sydney University study found common Australian trees are unable to store as much carbon as previously thought.

Published in the Nature Climate Change journal, the research found that Australia’s iconic Eucalyptus forests are likely to need additional soil nutrients in order to grow and take advantage of extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Read more about this work here.

Ellsworth, D.S., Anderson, I.C., Crous, K.Y., Cooke, J., Drake, J.E., Gherlenda, A.N., Gimeno, T.E., Macdonald, C.A., Medlyn, B.E., Powell, J.R., Tjoelker, M.G. and Reich, P.B. (2017). Elevated CO2 does not increase eucalypt forest productivity on a low-phosphorus soil. Nature Clim. Change. advance online publication. doi:10.1038/nclimate3235