Trees do more for the environment than just absorb carbon dioxide. A new study has found that tree bark can also help remove methane from the air.

The research showed that certain types of tree bark have microbes that can absorb methane at a rate similar to how soil captures carbon. This finding was published in the journal Nature.

Vincent Gauci, the lead researcher and a professor at the University of Birmingham, explained, “We usually think about trees helping the environment by taking in carbon dioxide and storing it as carbon. But this study shows that trees also play an important role in removing methane from the air.”

The researchers looked at how methane moves between the atmosphere and different parts of trees in various locations, including tropical forests in the Amazon and Panama, temperate forests in Oxfordshire, UK, and boreal forests in Sweden. They found that tropical forests, with their ideal conditions for microbes, absorbed the most methane.

Using special tools, the researchers measured the gases around tree trunks. They found that while trees might release small amounts of methane near the ground, they absorb more methane higher up the trunk.

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Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, much stronger than carbon dioxide in the short term. It has contributed significantly to global warming since the Industrial Revolution. The International Energy Agency reported that methane emissions are about 80 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat for the first 20 years.

The new study suggests that preserving and restoring forests could be even more beneficial than previously thought, potentially offering 10% more climate benefits from methane absorption. Gauci noted that increasing tree planting and reducing deforestation should be key strategies in efforts to cut methane emissions.

The researchers plan to explore whether deforestation is increasing methane levels in the atmosphere.