Chemistry-albedo feedbacks offset up to a third of forestation's CO(2) removal benefits. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38386743/)

These scientists wanted to see what would happen if we planted a lot more trees all over the world to help remove carbon dioxide from the air. They used computer models to simulate different scenarios, like one where we plant a ton of trees and another where we don't plant as many trees.

They found that planting more trees can actually make the air warmer because the trees release gases like methane and ozone. Also, the ground gets darker when there are more trees, which can also make the Earth warmer. So, even though planting trees helps remove carbon dioxide, it can also have some negative effects on the climate.

The scientists suggest that while planting trees is good for the environment, we also need to reduce other sources of pollution to make sure we can keep the Earth's temperature from getting too hot.

Weber J., King JA., Abraham NL., Grosvenor DP., Smith CJ., Shin YM., Lawrence P., Roe S., Beerling DJ., Martin MV. Chemistry-albedo feedbacks offset up to a third of forestation's CO(2) removal benefits. Science. 2024 Feb 23;383(6685):860-864. doi: 10.1126/science.adg6196. Epub 2024 Feb 22.