00:03We all know that leaves on trees sequester CO2, taking in the carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen
00:09for us to breathe. However, experts now say tree bark could be sucking in a large amount of another
00:14dangerous climate-related gas. When leaves take in CO2, they undergo photosynthesis, trapping the
00:20carbon they pull out of the air in their wood and bark. And a new study has demonstrated that that
00:25very bark is taking methane out of the air. Experts attribute around a third of our planets warming
00:30to methane. And this new find is surprising, considering wetlands have long been known to be
00:35a methane emitter. However, less research has been done into the most common kinds of forests,
00:40those which sit on dry land in soil that drains naturally. So how much is pulled out of the air
00:44already? The new study estimates that between 25 to 50 metric tons of atmospheric methane is
00:50sequestered in the bark of trees every year. Finding the tropical forests are the biggest
00:54suckers, with the researchers noting that means our planet's forests are better climate change
00:59preventers than previously thought, by around 7 to 12 percent.
