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Environment

Melting permafrost makes 'drunken forests' store less carbon

As the Arctic ground thaws due to climate change, trees are struggling to stay upright – and this slows their growth and makes them store less carbon

By James Dinneen

6 December 2024

A drunken forest in Alaska, where trees are tilting or collapsing to the ground due to permafrost melt

Global Warming Images/Shutterstock

Melting permafrost in Arctic forests may cause trees to tilt to the side in ways that slow their growth, reducing the amount of carbon these “drunken forests” store.

The northern hemisphere’s boreal forest is a vast ecosystem that contains up to 40 per cent of all carbon stored on land. Rapid warming of the Arctic due to climate change is already affecting how these forests grow and thus how much carbon they store. It is also melting…

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