Nature & Environment
Trees Grow Faster in Later Stages: Study
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Jan 16, 2014 09:59 PM EST
It's certainly unlike humans who tend to undergo incredible growth spurts during childhood and into early adulthood. For trees, this is simply not the case. A recent study shows that as trees age, they grow faster.
For the study, researchers reviewed records of 403 tree species in six continents. They concluded that 97 percent of the 403 temperature and tropical trees older than 80 years grew faster than others studied.
"I think one of the reasons had such staying power is because it's what humans do," Stephenson said, via Science Recorder. "We start growing slowly, then reach adolescence and have a growth spurt, then slow down again. Trees, on the other hand, reach that adolescent growth spurt and never stop."
Dissimilar to animals whose cells start breaking down as they age, trees never suffer these ill effects. In fact, only external factors including fire, disease and infestation harm the strength and beauty of natural element.
"We realize now the big, old trees are the ones pulling carbon most rapidly out of the atmosphere. This maybe puts an exclamation point on the importance of maintain big, old trees," Stephenson concluded, via the news organization.
What do you think?
More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Nature.
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First Posted: Jan 16, 2014 09:59 PM EST
It's certainly unlike humans who tend to undergo incredible growth spurts during childhood and into early adulthood. For trees, this is simply not the case. A recent study shows that as trees age, they grow faster.
For the study, researchers reviewed records of 403 tree species in six continents. They concluded that 97 percent of the 403 temperature and tropical trees older than 80 years grew faster than others studied.
"I think one of the reasons had such staying power is because it's what humans do," Stephenson said, via Science Recorder. "We start growing slowly, then reach adolescence and have a growth spurt, then slow down again. Trees, on the other hand, reach that adolescent growth spurt and never stop."
Dissimilar to animals whose cells start breaking down as they age, trees never suffer these ill effects. In fact, only external factors including fire, disease and infestation harm the strength and beauty of natural element.
"We realize now the big, old trees are the ones pulling carbon most rapidly out of the atmosphere. This maybe puts an exclamation point on the importance of maintain big, old trees," Stephenson concluded, via the news organization.
What do you think?
More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Nature.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone