THE world’s forests are at risk from harsher and more frequent droughts, threatening a spike in global warming, it is claimed.
Analysis by Stirling University found tree death increased consistently with increases in drought severity, regardless of the type of environment.
Dr Sarah Greenwood said: “We can see that the death of trees caused by drought is consistent across different environments around the world. A thirsty tree growing in a tropical forest and one in a temperate forest, such as those we find throughout Europe, will have largely the same response to drought and will inevitably suffer as a result of rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns on Earth.”
Research published in the Ecology Letters journal found species with denser wood and smaller, thicker leaves tended to fare better during prolonged, unusually-dry periods.
Ecology professor Alastair Jump, who co-authored the paper, said: “As the temperature of the planet continues to climb, mass tree mortality will hit more forests than ever before. Forests store a substantial amount of the world’s carbon and increased tree death will only propel future global warming.
“This has very significant implications for fully understanding the impact of climate change.”
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