Tree diversity is on the decline globally, according to a University of Alberta study that was recently published in Nature.
A new study shows it also makes a big difference in the carbon cycle — that is, the balance created by carbon being absorbed by ecosystems and then returned to the atmosphere through decomposition. So what does tree diversity mean, how does the carbon cycle fit in and what does it look like in Alberta?Tree diversity is a term used to describe three specific qualities in our forest environment, according to Chang.
"That's really important for populations when we have things like climate change, where their environment is changing really quickly," she said.
Increasing the functional diversity — that is, the variety of physical characteristics within the forest — enhanced soil carbon and nitrogen by 32 and 50 per cent, respectively. "We need to put in more efforts to conserve biodiversity because biodiversity comes with many different benefits," he said. Earl said that in Alberta, she hasn't seen an uptake in tree diversity, especially in managed forests. In fact, there's evidence that things can move in the opposite direction.
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