Eastern forests use up nitrogen in soil during earlier, greener springs
Tuesday, September 13, 2016 - 05:04
in Earth & Climate
A warming climate is causing earlier springs and later autumns in eastern forests of the United States, lengthening the growing season for trees and potentially changing how forests function. Scientists have found that in years with early springs, trees use more nitrogen to grow than is naturally provided in soil, which could impact tree growth rates and the amount of carbon dioxide forests take out of the atmosphere.