June 17, 2011

expert reaction to new research on the temperature effect from afforestation of cropland, as published in Nature Geoscience

New research cast doubt on the effect of planting trees to alleviate the effects of greenhouse gas accumulation.

Dr Simon Lewis, Royal Society research fellow at the Earth & Biosphere Institute, University of Leeds, said:

“This study broadly confirms what we already know – that there is not enough land on Earth to plant enough trees to mop up sufficient carbon dioxide to substantially reduce future global warming. But planting trees can help buy a little extra time to turn our energy systems around to non-polluting sources in the race against dangerous climate change.

“As no one magic bullet exists to deal with climate change, restoring degraded lands in the tropics, to avoid interfering with growing much-needed crops, could be a very useful contribution to the global climate problem.

“If planting trees is done sensitively this can also provide rural income from forest products like wood and coffee, provide insurance for local people when crops fail, and provide critical wildlife habitat to help with conservation.”

Vivek K. Arora and Alvaro Montenegro: ‘Small temperature benefits provided by realistic afforestation efforts’, Nature Geoscience, published online 19 JUNE 2011 | DOI: 10.1038/NGEO1182