An MIT study shows decreases in seed-dispersing animals can lead to a major reduction in forest carbon absorption.
An MIT study shows decreases in seed-dispersing animals can lead to a major reduction in forest carbon absorption.
A lot of attention has been paid to how climate change can drive biodiversity loss. Now, MIT researchers have shown the reverse is also true: Reductions in biodiversity can jeopardize one of Earth’s most powerful levers for mitigating climate change.
In a paper published in PNAS, the researchers showed that following deforestation, naturally-regrowing tropical forests, with healthy populations of seed-dispersing animals, can absorb up to four times more carbon than similar forests with fewer seed-dispersing animals.
Because tropical forests are currently Earth’s largest land-based carbon sink, the findings improve our understanding of a potent tool to fight climate change.
Read More: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
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