A study by American scientists, shows that the damage to trees in Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria was unprecedented for our time, and predicts the occurrence of more powerful storms caused by global warming. Potentially, they can permanently change forests in most of the Atlantic tropics, as a result of which biodiversity will suffer, and more greenhouse gases will be released into the atmosphere.
Due to climate change, hurricanes are expected to increase, which will destroy even more trees. The length of forests will decrease, as the vegetation will not have time to replenish, and it will become less diverse.
-study lead author Maria Uriarte, a teacher at Columbia University (USA)
Hurricane Maria not only destroyed much more trees than any previously studied storm: the big old trees were hardest hit, which are considered particularly resistant to bad weather. When the hurricane reached Puerto Rico in October 2017, it entered the fourth category with wind speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour and meter-high rainfall. Many trees have been deprived of foliage, broken or uprooted from the ground. According to the statistics presented in the study, the storm ruined or seriously damaged from 20 to 40 million trees.
Maria Uriarte, who has been tracking the tree life cycle in Puerto Rico for the past 15 years, has documented the effects of the hurricane. As part of the study, its team was located in the 16-hectare stretch of the National Reserve El Yunk, which since 1990 has been intensively controlled by the scientific community. Long-term monitoring allowed scientists to compare the damage from Mary to the third category storms, including Hurricane Hugo (1989) and Hurricane Georges (1998) – the only ones comparable to Maria.
They found that Maria had destroyed twice as many trees as previous storms, and had damaged three times more trunks. Some species were hit especially hard, with a frequency of damage up to 12 times higher than that of previous storms. Surprisingly, these were, as a rule, the most slowly growing, valuable hardwoods, which in the past were most resistant to violent storms: dacriodes majestic with a large crown valued for cabinetmakers, and a thick Amazonian yarra with so thick wood that it sinks in water . These and other large trees provide a unique habitat for many living things.
However, several species have succeeded in all storms, especially palm trees, the thin, flexible trunks of which grow quickly and bend under the wind. Such a difference in survival in hurricanes will lead to the fact that in the once biodiverse forests several resistant species will dominate.
Tropical cyclones derive energy from ocean heat. Atlantic temperatures are rising steadily, and models predict that by 2100, hurricane winds will increase by as much as 15 percent. Warm air also carries more moisture, so rainfall can increase by 20 percent near storm centers. Both factors destroy trees: extreme winds do it directly, while the rain saturates and destabilizes the soil, contributing to uprooting.
The potential loss of many tree species can have a cascading effect on wildlife, as well as change the growth dynamics of forests, so that instead of absorbing more atmospheric carbon, they will become direct sources of emissions. This is due to the fact that the rotting of fallen logs will make a critical contribution to the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide. Thus, forests will exacerbate global warming, which is destroying them.
Strongest hurricanes is a real threat caused by global warming
Click To Tweet
The post Strongest hurricanes is a real threat caused by global warming appeared first on Upcosmos.com.