Rainforests can buffer rising CO₂ in the short term—but this comes at a cost

Rainforests can buffer rising CO₂ in the short term—but this comes at a cost

Tropical forests are among the world's most important carbon sinks. A new study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the University of Vienna, and Brazil's National Institute for Amazonian Research suggests that even small understory trees can temporarily store more CO₂ as atmospheric CO₂ levels rise. However, their long-term capacity to sequester carbon may be constrained by nutrient limitations, potentially reducing this ability.