Monday, September 28, 2026
Science

Without water, forests lose their ability to absorb CO₂

To survive periods of drought, trees halt photosynthesis, a highly water-intensive process. For every molecule of CO₂ absorbed by a tree leaf, an average of around 400 water molecules are released. Entire forests may then end up emitting more CO₂ than they capture.

Without water, forests lose their ability to absorb CO₂
Image: Phys.org
To survive periods of drought, trees halt photosynthesis, a highly water-intensive process. For every molecule of CO₂ absorbed by a tree leaf, an average of around 400 water molecules are released. Entire forests may then end up emitting more CO₂ than they capture.

Originally published at Phys.org

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