Trees on Earth is 8 times higher than previously thought – BBC Russian

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Image caption According to new data, the trees on the planet eight times more than was stated to now

On the planet there are about three trillion trees, according to scientists at Yale University. These data, collected with the help of satellite imagery and data of forestry, eight times higher than previous records, when it was reported that the world grows nearly 400 billion trees.

The calculations were carried out on more than 400 thousand sites at all continents.

As the head of the research team, Dr. Thomas Krauter, according to their data, for every person on Earth now accounts for about 420 trees.

According to the report, published in the journal Nature, the research will help to clarify and other important factors of life on the planet – from the biological diversity of the animal world to the modeling of climate change, which significantly affects the absence or presence of large forest areas, in huge quantities of absorbing greenhouse gases, recycling them into oxygen.

In an interview with BBC BBC Dr. Krauter, however, notes that the findings of this study do not suggest that the state of the planet’s atmosphere, carbon dioxide levels have appeared “good” or “bad”, it’s just evidence What is the current state of these forests.

“We just describe the condition of forests on the planet, that then these data could be used, for example, environmentalists for their research, or politics and government for their own purposes,” – he says Dr. Krauter.

The greatest number of trees as the researchers note – about two trillion – are grown in tropical and subtropical zones of the planet, which is quite natural.

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Image caption The researchers believe that the findings will help understand the causes of climate change on the planet, and how menacing implications

In addition, this study provides a clear understanding of the human impact on the vegetation in the land. According to the study, each year on the planet cut down trees about 15 billion (or 0.5% of the total), while, as the planted no more than five billion.

“Now we see how fast the forest is destroyed on the planet. When combined with other data, for example, on climate change, we can understand how deforestation affects the climate, “- says one of the researchers, Dr. Henry Glick.

Once this study allows you to compare the current state of woods that have been, for example, after the Ice Age. Scientists say that since mankind cut down on the planet nearly three trillion trees.

“Europe was almost completely covered by forest, and now it is almost continuous fields and meadows. And this, of course, human activity has led to such a results, “- said in an interview with Dr. Krauter.

At the same time, other ucheny doubt the accuracy of the study. Dr. Martin Lucas of the University of Reading in England, says that the errors of recent studies that were counted a total of 400 billion trees in the world, suggests that the study, the number of trees eight times, may eventually prove to be inaccurate.

Other scientists are also reminded that the study was conducted only meticulously in Europe and North America, and regions such as India, Australia, China and Congo practically not been studied. Because these data can again increase the number of trees in two, and maybe 10 times.