ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science

Grasslands could overtake forests as the most reliable carbon sink ecosystems

But this doesn't mean we should stop focusing on forests -- on the contrary.

Alexandru MicubyAlexandru Micu
July 10, 2018
in Biology, Environment, News, Science
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

In the face of unstable climate and weather patterns, grasslands may be more reliable carbon sinks than forests, a new paper suggests.

Sunset.
Image credits Rüştü Bozkuş.

Forests are key carbon sinks for our planet. All plants capture carbon atoms from CO2 gas as they grow, using them to weave together new tissues. Trees, being some of the largest plants out there, are particularly effective. Their sheer size stands as a testament to this ability — each and every square centimeter of that plant is build using carbon locked away from the atmosphere.

In recognition of this fact, forests are often considered net carbon sinks in cap-and-trade/emission trading type schemes. In this case, particularly, they’ve been included in California’s cap and trade system since the state’s Air Resources Board (ARB) adopted the U.S. Forests Compliance Offset Protocol in November 2014.

So why then don’t we just plaster the Earth in trees and spew CO2 without a care in the world? Well, first off, it wouldn’t work — trees alone can’t save us from climate change, studies have shown. Another issue is that our photosynthesizing friends also have an Achille’s heel: their ability to gobble up carbon is matched by their propensity to burn. Forest fires free stored carbon mightily fast and disrupt carbon-storing ability over many years.

Kindling not firewood

One new paper published by researchers from the University of California, Davis, shows that in the context of climate change, forests may no longer be the go-to ecosystems for carbon storage. Decades of fire suppression has left California’s forests rich with fuel while warming temperatures and drought increase the risk of wildfires. Overall, they write, the higher incidence of such fires effectively turned the state’s forests from carbon sinks to carbon sources.

Grasslands, the team surprisingly reports, are more resilient carbon sink ecosystems than forests in today’s California. The findings warrant including grasslands in the state’s cap-and-and trade market, the authors add.

“Looking ahead, our model simulations show that grasslands store more carbon than forests because they are impacted less by droughts and wildfires,” says lead author Pawlok Dass. “This doesn’t even include the potential benefits of good land management to help boost soil health and increase carbon stocks in rangelands.”

Biomass in forests is very top heavy, in that most of it is stored in wood and leaves above ground. By contrast, most biomass in grasslands is concentrated under the surface. Fires can’t draw this biomass as fuel since there’s not enough oxygen to sustain combustion below the surface. Because of this, carbon stored in underground biomass isn’t affected by wildfires — which are a serious threat in the context of climate change.

RelatedPosts

Green reasons to be cheerful
Wildfires roar through Southern Cali as NASA and ESA satellites watch, powerless to intervene
US navy synthesizes jet fuel solely out of seawater; costs $3-6 gallon
Mexican mangroves ‘vital for fishing industry’

To gauge how forests and grasslands would fare as climate sinks in the future, the team ran simulations of four scenarios:

  • Warming limited to 3.06 degrees F (1.7 degrees C) of warming by 2100 as a result of a massive drop in global carbon emissions — yes, this was considered the “positive” scenario.
  • A business as usual scenario, under which carbon emissions continue unabated. This scenario sees a temperature increase of up to 8.64 degrees F (4.8 degrees C) by 2100.
  • Climate-change-induced periodic intervals of drought — similar to the weather patterns generated by La Niña/El Niño.
  • A ‘megadrought’ scenario, lasting for a century or longer.

California’s forests were more reliable carbon sinks than grasslands only under the first scenario, the team explains. It’s extremely unlikely that those conditions will ever come to pass, as the scenario requires more aggressive global greenhouse gas reductions than those called for under the Paris Climate Agreement (and we’re not even meeting those yet). As things stand now, grasslands may become the only secure net carbon sinks through to 2101, the team explains.

Grassland or forest evolution.
Grassland (A) and forest (B) evolution in response to 21st-century climate changes. Blue shows expansion while red indicates contraction. Forests retreat in all future climates except those associated with aggressive emissions reductions (RCP 2.6), the team found.
Image credits Pawlok Dass et al. 2018 Environ. Res. Lett.

The team cautions that their findings don’t mean we should cut down forests — far from it. It only goes to show that from a cap-and-trade & carbon-offset perspective, conserving grasslands and promoting rangeland practices that promote carbon sequestration could help more readily meet the state’s emission-reduction goals. While trees stay on the cap-and-trade portfolio, protecting them through strategies meant to limit and combat wildfires — prescribed burns, strategic thinning and replanting, for example — will reduce overall carbon losses.

Trees and forest provide a wealth of environmental services, and we would be wise to conserve them. Finally, while grasslands may become the more reliable carbon sinks, forests still have the ability to soak up much more carbon per unit or surface than grasslands.

“In a stable climate, trees store more carbon than grasslands,” said Professor Benjamin Houlton, a paper co-author. “But in a vulnerable, warming, drought-likely future, we could lose some of the most productive carbon sinks on the planet.”

“California is on the frontlines of the extreme weather changes that are beginning to occur all over the world. We really need to start thinking about the vulnerability of ecosystem carbon, and use this information to de-risk our carbon investment and conservation strategies in the 21st century.”

The paper “Grasslands may be more reliable carbon sinks than forests in California” has been published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.

Tags: CapturecarbonforestGrasslandWildfires

Share21TweetShare
Alexandru Micu

Alexandru Micu

Stunningly charming pun connoisseur, I have been fascinated by the world around me since I first laid eyes on it. Always curious, I'm just having a little fun with some very serious science.

Related Posts

Climate

Climate change is about to erase $1.4 trillion in real estate value in the US

byMihai Andrei
3 months ago
Biology

The cute, fluffy panda may have had omnivorous ancestors

byMihai Andrei
8 months ago
Climate

Massive underwater waves disrupt carbon storage in the oceans

byFermin Koop
2 years ago
Environment

Is your toilet paper flushing critical forests down the drain?

byFermin Koop
3 years ago

Recent news

The Worm That Outsourced Locomotion to Its (Many) Butts

May 16, 2025

The unusual world of Roman Collegia — or how to start a company in Ancient Rome

May 16, 2025
Merton College, University of Oxford. Located in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK. Original public domain image from Wikimedia Commons

For over 500 years, Oxford graduates pledged to hate Henry Symeonis. So, who is he?

May 16, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.