New find­ings on ni­trous ox­ide emis­sions from north­ern trees sur­prised sci­ent­ists

A long article but worth a read. I am posting simply because I had no idea as I thought trees took in carbon and released oxygen.. Obviously there is more to the cycle of tree life than I ever learned in school.

A recently published study, completed by researchers from the University of Helsinki together with Dr Katerina Machacova, a visiting scholar, demonstrates that boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere are sources of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). The study provides new information on the significance of trees as sinks and sources of greenhouse gases, proving that forests have relevance not only in the absorption of carbon, but also as a source of other greenhouse gases.

The research group observed that the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide is released into the atmosphere not only by the forest soil, but also by pine, birch and spruce, the trees of the northern boreal zone. The group has previously demonstrated (Machacova et al., 2016; Scientific Reports) that the stems and canopies of pine trees in the northern boreal zone are sources of N2O. This recent study indicated that also birches and spruces release the gas into the atmosphere.

“Trees may have an impact more significant than previously thought on the nitrous oxide balance of forests, as well as on the global N2O balance,” says Associate Professor Mari Pihlatie from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki.

www.helsinki.fi...

a reply to: 727Sky

Hey that is pretty interesting , there is clearly a lot more going on than we initially thought

i like this thread as I am currently looking into biochar forest development
and this is quite interesting since mostly all of the trees we plant in Scotland are of those varieties

That's really interesting, especially since we didn't even know until now. You have to wonder what else nature is doing that we haven't yet discovered.

Remember when Ronald Reagan said that trees cause more pollution than automobiles?
NASA

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan claimed that trees produce more air pollution than automobiles, fueling a spate of jokes about “killer trees.” He was mostly wrong, but not completely. It is true that forests emit volatile organic compounds and reactive hydrocarbons such as isoprene, a chemical that contributes to air pollution. Although isoprene is harmless by itself, the gas reacts with other substances in the atmosphere to form certain types of fine aerosols and ground-level ozone. (Ozone near the ground causes health problems, damages crops, and contributes to climate change. In the stratosphere, it is beneficial because it prevents harmful ultraviolet rays from reaching Earth’s surface.) “What Reagan neglected to indicate is that unhealthly levels of ozone wouldn’t form without nitrogen oxides (NOx), pollutants emitted when gasoline and coal are burned,” explained Bryan Duncan, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the deputy project scientist for the Aura satellite. Since sunlight is ubiquitous and forests emit large quantities of volatile organics in the summer, it is the amount of nitrogen oxide that determines whether ozone forms over cities on hot summer days. That NOx is most often supplied by vehicles.

Now we find that trees do emit N2O.

So trees produce laughing gas? Those tree huggers might be on to something, eh?

Seriously, this from the article is also interesting:

The most important discovery in the study was that the N2O emissions of tree stems clearly vary by season, corresponding with the physiological activity of the trees. During the growing season, trees release nitrous oxide from their stems, while during dormancy in the winter, they can become consumers of the gas. Even though the consumption of N2O over the winter reduces annual emissions, trees remain annual N2O sources. Seasonal variation in N2O emissions corresponded with the carbon dioxide emissions of tree stems. Both types of emissions peaked in the summer.

So it's seasonal. The article goes on talk about the challenges in finding/developing a way to accurately measure the emissions. I expect further studies could be very interesting too!

With the attempted clamp down with CO2 going on it is good to know the trees will be able to find another way around it.

I hope they dont go in guns blazing all knee jerk reaction

OH NO THE TREES ARE KILLING US

what they will find is another system in place which allows the gloabl NO2 to balance out so it doesnt do any harm overall

trees are perfect , we need to learn as much from them as possible
they already have this so balanced out .

a reply to: sapien82

pave paradise and put in a parking lot.

a reply to: 727Sky

Sweet! More NoS for the latest fast and furious movie 'oh please god stop giving Dwayne Johnson blank checks.'

Joking aside, it's not funny, pardon the oxymoron. Nitrous oxide is a prime example of why we shouldn't throw a blanket over this whole CO2 thing, we also have other environmental issues to attend to.

Mansanto anyone?

a reply to: 727Sky

I don't know if it's done been posted here's an article on some study by NASA showing the Earth is getting greener.
I should mention it's from 2016.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Monsanto are guilty of so much that's #ed our environment I cant believe they are still allowed to operate
given their history of #ing up humans .

They are one of the greatest threats to our existence and that of all life on earth.

If this is true for trees, just think of all the nitrous oxide given off by the corn gas fields that are loaded with nitrogen. I have never believed that corn gas was a good thing but mostly because much of our most fertile land has been depleted of nutrients and the high nitrogen fertilization winds up in the streams that lead to big bodies of water.

Same goes for power growing soybeans, a lot of nitrogen fertilizer is used for that too. The nitrogen produced by forests actually helps to protect the trees from forest fires, most fire extinguishing chemicals are nitrogen based. Nitrous oxide only becomes burnable at high temperatures and pressures, the bond that when broken gives off the energy is stronger than the carbon hydrogen bond so it actually can be used to extinguish fires. In the forests, birds poop and that nitrogen is utilized by the trees to make them less susceptable to fire.

Remember much of what you replace the forest with gives off more nitrogen than the forest. This information must be used properly to evaluate things, one must not jump to conclusions hastily.

a reply to: 727Sky

I bet the reason it took so long to notice is it is a negligible amount...


For example....


I bet they release 98% oxygen and 2% nitrogen oxide.

How dare they!

And the shrimp are coke addicts these days. If you get drug tested and they find coke, just say you gorged yourself on Shrimp at the chinese restaurant. Gee, tried to link three different articles and it didn't work. I wonder what is up?

I would be more concerned about coke head shrimps than trees getting a buzz off of nitrous oxide.

a reply to: rickymouse

Gee, tried to link three different articles and it didn't work. I wonder what is up?

is this one of them or what you were talking about.
Shrimp in Rural England Have a Cocaine Problem

glad i get my water from a well other than a waste water treatment center. but i still could be drinking somebodies pee.

originally posted by: 727Sky
A long article but worth a read. I am posting simply because I had no idea as I thought trees took in carbon and released oxygen.. Obviously there is more to the cycle of tree life than I ever learned in school.

A recently published study, completed by researchers from the University of Helsinki together with Dr Katerina Machacova, a visiting scholar, demonstrates that boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere are sources of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). The study provides new information on the significance of trees as sinks and sources of greenhouse gases, proving that forests have relevance not only in the absorption of carbon, but also as a source of other greenhouse gases.

The research group observed that the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide is released into the atmosphere not only by the forest soil, but also by pine, birch and spruce, the trees of the northern boreal zone. The group has previously demonstrated (Machacova et al., 2016; Scientific Reports) that the stems and canopies of pine trees in the northern boreal zone are sources of N2O. This recent study indicated that also birches and spruces release the gas into the atmosphere.

“Trees may have an impact more significant than previously thought on the nitrous oxide balance of forests, as well as on the global N2O balance,” says Associate Professor Mari Pihlatie from the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki.

www.helsinki.fi...

They are dangerously crossing that line of consensus. They best rework their data or something bad might happen.