Live trees absorb significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in the soil. They thus play an important role in climate protection. However, according to the Academy of Sciences, scientists have so far known little about the impact of rotting wood of dead trees on the global carbon cycle. The decomposition of wood and the recycling of the nutrients contained in it are among the most important processes in forests.
During the study, scientists distributed wood to more than 140 species of trees in fifty-five localities on six continents. The aim was to assess the effect of climate on the rate of decomposition. They enclosed half of the wood in net cages, which prevented insects from gaining access. They left the rest unprotected. Research has shown that the rate of decomposition and the proportion of insects depend on the climate and increase with increasing temperature. Higher precipitation accelerates decomposition in warmer areas and slows it down where temperatures are lower.
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The role of dead wood models is underestimated
According to the expert on the ecology of microorganisms Petr Baldrian, who heads the laboratory of environmental microbiology at the Institute of Microbiology of the Academy of Sciences, experimental data also made it possible to model the role played by dead wood in the global carbon cycle.
“We estimate that approximately 10.9 gigatonnes of carbon are released from dead wood worldwide each year. Part of the carbon is absorbed into the soil, another part is released into the atmosphere. The amount of carbon released from dead wood roughly corresponds to global emissions from fossil fuels, “he said.
“The study also demonstrates the importance of fungi and insects in the turnover of dead wood. Given the decline in insect diversity due to global change, climate change is proving to have the potential to significantly affect wood decay, and thus the global carbon balance, ”he added.
The researchers managed to complete a three-year experiment, although they sometimes worked under extremely difficult conditions. For example, sophisticated measures had to be taken to protect certain areas from elephants. One region was lost due to a forest fire and had to be reconstructed, while another area was flooded.
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