Geoworld Spotlight

An Edinburgh-led international team of scientists has been studying the carbon cycle in forest ecosystems. One of the main results is published in Nature, June 14th (doi:10.1038/nature05847). The study has settled a long-running controversy and raised many new questions. The study shows the impact of human activities on the rate of uptake of carbon by forests in Europe and the USA. It demonstrates that via the direct effects of forest management and indirectly via the use of nitrogen fertilizers and nitrogen oxide production by cars and industry, human activities have had a profound and largely positive effect on the carbon balance or net ecosystem production. The implications of these findings for practical questions such as the merits of fertilizing forests with nitrogen to create stronger carbon sinks, are considered in the accompanying News and Views article.