"The climate benefits of trees storing carbon dioxide is partially offset by dark forests’ absorption of more heat from the sun, and compounds they release that slow the destruction of methane in the atmosphere, the research shows."

"Most climate-concerned people know that trees can help slow global warming by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but a recent study published in the journal Science shows the climate cooling benefits of planting trees may be overestimated.

“Our study showed that there is a strong cooling from the trees. But that cooling might not be as strong as we would have thought,” Maria Val Martin, a researcher at the University of Sheffield in the U.K., said.

Darker forests can warm the Earth because they reduce the albedo of the land they cover, meaning they absorb more sunlight and reflect less solar radiation back into space. So more heat is held by the Earth’s surface."

Moriah McDonald reports for Inside Climate News March 13, 2024. [2]