Scots researchers are predicting a significant acceleration in global warming as a result of a major threat to the world’s forests.
They have found that forests around the world, in both tropical and temperate regions, are at risk of death due to widespread drought.
The study has been led by Stirling University which has been looking at the impact of rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns.
The results are worrying and researchers believe they will have a significant impact upon the world’s understanding of climate change.
Professor of Ecology, Alastair Jump, said: “By pinpointing specific traits in trees that determine how at risk they are from drought, we can better understand global patterns of tree mortality and how the world’s forests are reacting to rising temperatures and reduced rainfall.
“As the temperature of the planet continues to climb, mass tree mortality will hit more forests than ever before.
“Forests store a substantial amount of the world’s carbon and increased tree death will only propel future global warming.
“This has very significant implications for fully understanding the impact of climate change on our planet.”
Stirling’s analysis suggests that no forest is safe from the increased frequency and severity of droughts.
Report co-author Dr Sarah Greenwood, from Stirling’s Faculty of Natural Sciences, said: “We can see that the death of trees caused by drought is consistent across different environments around the world.
“So, a thirsty tree growing in a tropical forest and one in a temperate forest, such as those we find throughout Europe, will have largely the same response to drought and will inevitably suffer as a result of rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns on Earth.”
