Queensland forests have shifted from being a carbon sink to a carbon source, according to a new report.
The study analysed 49 years of data from 20 sites and found indications carbon is being emitted because trees are dying and decaying faster than they can be replaced. It seems woody trunks and branches of trees in the wet tropical rainforests of Queensland are losing their ability to absorb excess carbon dioxide.
The report, published in Nature, shows the shift occurred about 25 years ago.
Ecophysiologist and study lead author Hannah Carle, from Western Sydney University, said the historical assumption has been wet tropical rainforests around the world and Australia were carbon sinks.
“Which means they’re taking in more carbon per annum than they release,” she said.
Woody biomass is part of this storage system, and sequesters carbon within the structure that forms the woody parts of trees.
Read the full report here.