A new study in Nature examining how trees respond to warming temperatures has prompted predictably misleading responses from climate change deniers.
The study—by six scientists from the University of Minnesota—examines the respiration process of ten species of boreal and temperate trees. It challenges findings of past research which predicted trees would respirate more CO2 as the planet warms. The new data from the University of Minnesota shows that trees will indeed emit more CO2 in warmer temperatures, just not as much as previously expected.
Reuters and the New York Times both accurately reported the new findings. But James Delingpole and Eric Worrall misrepresented the data, writing articles that suggest warming will be no problem for “plants,” and in fact may be beneficial. Their extremely vague extrapolation of the study’s rather limited findings is dangerous because it suggests that the findings apply to all plants. In truth, while ten species of boreal and temperate trees may be able to adapt to rising temperatures, other plants that we rely on for our food supply, like wheat and corn, are still vulnerable.
As usual, in cherrypicking data, climate change deniers have missed the forest for the trees.
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