Source or sink? Trees with heart rot disease emit more methane, upending forest carbon models
Phys.org
February 25, 2026
AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary
Trees affected by heart rot disease release significantly more methane than healthy ones, challenging previous assumptions about forests' role in carbon sequestration and potentially altering global climate models. This discovery suggests that sick trees might act as sources of greenhouse gases rather than just sinks, complicating efforts to model forest ecosystems' impact on the environment.
Healthy forests are known for their ability to absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and store it in vegetation and soil—a process called carbon sequestration. However, when trees become diseased, such as with heart rot, they emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. This emission disrupts the natural balance of carbon cycling within forests, highlighting how forest health directly influences their capacity to mitigate climate change.
This finding has profound implications for understanding carbon dynamics in ecosystems. Methane emissions from sick trees could mean that the net reduction of greenhouse gases by forests is less than previously thought. Such insights are critical for refining climate models and policies aimed at leveraging natural systems to combat global warming, emphasizing the need for improved forest management strategies to maintain their effectiveness as carbon sinks.
The revelation underscores the complexity of environmental science, where even minor changes in ecosystem health can have significant consequences on global processes. For researchers and policymakers, this means reevaluating current assumptions about carbon sequestration and exploring new approaches to account for such unexpected emissions, ensuring more accurate predictions and effective climate action strategies.
Verticals
sciencephysics
Originally published on Phys.org on 2/25/2026