Crowther Lab Show How Trees Could Save Our Climate

A recent study published in journal Science Crowther Lap explained that we need about 0.9 billion hectares of the earth would be appropriate to the reforestation process. According to their calculation, this process could capture about two-thirds of the carbon released by us and it could be the only effective way to fight the climate change.

Crowther Lap specialized in global climate change and they try to find solutions. Their new study scientists presented to us a general review of new trees how much caron they can hold and where is the best place they could grow. Dr. Jean-François Bastin a postdoc at the Crowther Lab explained important aspect in their calculation they did not pay attention to residential areas and agricultural regions because these areas are important in our lives and it can’t be in reforestation process.

Scientists estimated our earth needs 4.4 billion hectares of tree cover under the current conditions of climate change. The plant has 2.8 hectares of tree cover now exist so we need 1.9 billion hectares to achieve the goal. I wonder how much a billion hectares we will need in the future to achieve the goal because the tree cover takes decades to grow and become mature tree cover which captures the human-made carbon. We have only 0.9 billion hectares of the 1.9 hectares required that not used by human.

This numbers and calculations showed that we need to plant trees in the size of the United States for the reforestation process. When the new forests reach the mature level they could store 205 billion tonnes of carbon that means they could store about two-thirds of the carbon released into the atmosphere since the industrial revolution.

Professor Thomas Crowther founder of the Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich and the co-author of this study said that all researchers knew about restoring forests could play a main role in our fight against climate change but they didn’t know know how huge the impact would be. The authors of this study present a clear idea of forest restoration is the greatest climate change solution available today. But they have to take action quickly because as I mentioned this process could take decades to grow the trees.

The research team also showed which parts of the globe most suited to forest restoration. They presented six countries to plant the trees:

1. Russia have151 million hectares which are the biggest area fit for this project.
2. The United State has 103 million hectares the researchers think United states should take this area seriously if they want to help in climate change fighting.
3. The great white north as I like to call Canada it has 78.4 million hectares of area that should plant immediately.
4. Australia has 58 million hectares.
5. Brazil has 49.7 million hectares.
6. China has 40.2 million hectares but I think China live now in a revolution of economy and science and technology they can help in the project.

ETH Zurich. “How trees could save the climate.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 July 2019. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/07/190704191350.htm>.