Nature:
Previous climate studies had predicted that rising temperatures
due to global warming would cause the drying out and eventual
destruction of rainforests in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. A
recent
study, however, has found that trees may be more resilient
than previously thought. Using new data and improved modeling,
an international team of researchers compared results from 22
different global climate models. "In all but one simulation,
rainforests across the three regions retained their carbon
stocks even as atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration
increased throughout the century," writes Olive Heffernan for
Nature. Carbon dioxide can act as an airborne
fertilizer, boosting plant growth and counteracting the
negative effects of increased emissions from the burning of
fossil fuels. Nevertheless, other effects of a changing climate
could still damage the trees, such as an increasing number of
extreme weather events.
