Forests help to limit climate change by capturing enormous amounts of carbon dioxide
Forests help to limit climate change by capturing enormous amounts of carbon dioxide, but new insights into how forests affect the atmosphere have revealed that they may cool the planet more than we previously thought. Albedo is the measure of how well a surface reflects sunlight — dark soil has a low albedo and absorbs heat from the Sun while bright snow and ice have high albedos and reflect the sunlight out to space. This is why ice areas in both the Arctic and Antarctica play such a large role in cooling the planet. Forests have a relatively dark albedo compared to other aspects of the landscape, so some scientists theorize that their cooling-effect could be negated by their albedo. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) sheds light on this influence that forests have on the atmosphere. Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, Canada (Bobbushphoto. E+. Getty Images) A humpback whale in British Columbia’s Great Bear Rainforest. (Bobbu