A new study shows that despite what we’ve learned in the past, an increasingly warmer climate allows for less absorption of carbon dioxide by subalpine forests.

Scientists at the University of Colorado at Boulder have found that because of this, more greenhouse gasses will be left in the atmosphere.

Hu, along with ecology and evolutionary biology professor and CIRES Fellow Russell Monson, found that while the growing season was extended, it also lessened water availbility to forets in summer and fall. As a result, these trees could not effectively convert CO2 into biomass.

Because snow is more effective than rain in giving water to the forests, an increase in warmer weather downpours won’t make the difference if there is a lack of snow.

The team found that 60% of the water in the trees could be traced back to snowmelt. But as the snowmelt declines, the rate of carbon uptake follows.

The study also includes authors David Moore of King’s College London and Sean Burns of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and CU-Boulder.

CIRES is a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Read more from their website cires.colorado.edu.

The study is to be published in the February edition of the journal Global Change Biology.

Source: Science Daily.

Image courtesy of rohan.sdsu.edu

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