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Tree mortality in tropical moist forests in Australia has been increasing since the mid 1980s, and the death rate of trees appears to have doubled over that time period. According to an international team of researchers, the primary cause is drier air in these forests, the consequence of human-induced climate change. Ecologist David Bauman says a similar process is likely underway in tropical forests on other continents. He explains that although trees are being replaced, the rate of growth is so slow that these forests risk becoming carbon sources, rather than the carbon sinks that are necessary for the reduction in global warming.

Photo: Relict rainforest in northeast Australia Credit: Alexander Shenkin