I wonder how they'll 'manage' the trees?
Posted on 08/19/2012 4:52:40 AM PDT by raybbr
UNION, Conn. (AP) — It's time to add gassy trees to the list of climate concerns.
According to a new study by Yale University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, diseased trees may be releasing unusually large amounts of methane gas into the air. If the data holds up, it could alter forest management strategies around the world and change the calculations for how much trees are able to offset carbon emissions.
"If we're using forests as a climate mitigation tool, we have to know what we're getting," said Kristofer Covey, a Ph.D. candidate who worked on the study. "Carbon offsets could be changed somewhat by this."
To be sure, the new findings don't negate the beneficial aspects of trees, which absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. But it may give foresters some pause in thinking about what mix of age and species of trees is ideal for the environment.
"There's methane sneaking out the back door," Covey said, ushering visitors along a hiking trail at the 7,800-acre Yale-Myers Forest in northeastern Connecticut. "This is a very preliminary study, but there's a potential for this to be widespread. What we'd like to do is put together a global assessment, looking at a bunch of questions."
As with many scientific endeavors, the methane discovery happened by accident. Robert Warren, a former postdoctoral researcher at Yale, was showing some students at the forest how to take tree core samples. Suddenly, one of the trees began to spit out gas.
One of Warren's students decided to see if the gas was flammable by lighting it, and a moment later, "there was this flame coming out of the tree," said Mark Bradford, an assistant professor of terrestrial ecosystem ecology at Yale. "Robert called me up and asked what the heck was going on."
(Excerpt) Read more at wtnh.com ...
These “experts” didn’t know that decaying matter produces methane? Obviously, they aren’t country boys.
No, the are from Yale. The smartest people in the world. /s
Tree farts. Who wudda thunk it?
Hey trees are flammable!!! What a discovery!!! Science marches on at Yale.
“It’s time to add gassy trees to the list of climate concerns.”
Because the trees in the Land of Oz told them so?
They are surprised? Next thing you know, they’ll be claiming swamps and landfills give off methane.
Need another reason to waste taxpayer money. Now each Forestry Service person must be equipped with a $20,000 portable methane sensor to decide which trees to terminate. But wait once they kill the tree it will increase the methane out.
As one posted, Yale....... /s
Sounds right based on this.
"There's methane sneaking out the back door," I know cows and humans have back doors, but who's a thunk trees do, too?
It’s a wonder this poor planet managed to survive all those millions of years before the experts came along to help.
Everything I need to know,I learned from the Pentateuch:
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. (Exodus 3:2)
“Killer trees” indeed. Once again, Ronald Reagan is vindicated.
First cattle farts...now trees! Who knew?
But it may give foresters some pause in thinking about what mix of age and species of trees is ideal for the environment.
So, all that cutting down of the rain forests in the last century was actually saving the planet.
lol
Idiots in academia.
SBD. It took a libtard Ph.D. to figure this out?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.