Do you love yourself to be addresses as an eco-conscious citizen? How are you planning to go about it? – by planting more trees to neutralize your carbon emissions? But, do you know, by doing this you would do more harm than good! An international team of scientists has raised this unexpected objection.
The plantations had a drastic effect on stream flow, the team reports in Science. The trees reduced flow by half, by sucking water out of the ground and evaporating it from their leaves. And for at least a year, 13% of streams dried up. In the downstream less water would be available for plants and animals, and thus, effects would be large there.
According to the team, nutrients in the soil were also affected by tree planting. While sodium was enriched, calcium, magnesium and potassium were all depleted, which means that plantation soil was more salty on average. And ultimately, all of these changes would affect the range of plant species.
Via: The Guardian