Small Climate Protectors: The Hidden Role of Tree Bark

Trees Mitigation of Global Warming

Trees do more than just produce oxygen; they indirectly contribute to delaying global warming. This is due to the microbiome inhabiting tree bark, which absorbs gases responsible for rising global temperatures.

Researchers from Monash University and Southern Cross University discovered that tree bark hosts a microbiome that consumes hydrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide. While these gases drive climate change, the metabolic activity of tree bark microbes prevents them from entering the atmosphere in their original form.

Bark Microbes as Climate Heroes

This discovery fundamentally shifts our perception of tree bark; while we previously viewed it primarily as a protective layer for the ecosystem, we now recognize its active role in climate regulation. It is now clear that bark facilitates the reduction of harmful atmospheric substances, thereby supporting environmental health.

The removal of these gases is a hidden benefit of trees that we were previously unaware of,

– stated Dr. Luke Jeffrey, one of the study’s authors, in an interview with Science News.

The scale of this microbial support is even more significant than initially estimated.

A Global Scale of Impact

There are approximately 41 million square kilometers of tree bark on Earth—an area roughly equivalent to the size of North and South America combined. About 6 trillion microbes inhabit every square meter of this surface. These organisms may act as silent heroes in the fight against global warming, though scientists discovered their role only recently and somewhat by chance.

The Secret Correlation Between Trees and Methane

The investigation began with methane, a gas responsible for approximately 30% of human-induced global warming. Traditionally, it was understood that methane forms primarily in the anaerobic sediments of lakes and wetlands. However, when experts analyzed the Amazon, they noticed a significant discrepancy.

Methane levels measured on the ground were 50% lower than satellite data suggested. This gap became the focus of in-depth scientific research and eventually led to the solution of the mystery.

Trees: Protectors, Not Sources

Previously, trees were often viewed as passive conduits, or “chimneys,” that released soil-derived methane into the atmosphere, thus contributing to the greenhouse effect. Recent findings published in the journal Nature (and highlighted in Science) prove this is not the case.

Scientists demonstrated that the amount of methane exiting paperbark trees in Australian forests was 35% lower than the amount flowing up from the soil. The conclusion is definitive: tree bark microbes consume the gas and oxidize it to obtain energy.

This could be a truly massive ecosystem service that these microbes are providing,

– said Pok Man Leung in a statement for Science News.

These latest discoveries confirm that tree bark performs a vital ecological function. The microbes within it can inhibit global warming, a fact of profound importance for the future of our planet.

Read this article in Polish: Mali obrońcy klimatu. Co naprawdę kryje się w korze drzew