Snowpack plays a critical role in northern forests’ ability to store carbon, according to a decade-long study at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest led by Boston University researchers. While increased soil warming in summer can boost tree growth by about 63%, reduced snow cover during winter—leading to more intense freeze-thaw cycles—almost halves that benefit, resulting in just a 31% increase in carbon uptake compared to reference plots. This finding suggests that climate models may significantly overestimate the capacity of temperate forests to sequester carbon unless they incorporate the diminishing snowpack’s suppressing effects.
Snowpack plays a critical role in northern forests’ ability to store carbon, according to a decade-long study at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest led by Boston University researchers. While increased soil warming in summer can boost tree growth by about 63%, reduced snow cover during winter—leading to more intense freeze-thaw cycles—almost halves that benefit, resulting in just a 31% increase in carbon uptake compared to reference plots. This finding suggests that climate models may significantly overestimate the capacity of temperate forests to sequester carbon unless they incorporate the diminishing snowpack’s suppressing effects.
