Manu National Park in Peru, where some measurements were taken for the study
Vincent Gauci
Microbes living in the bark of trees are absorbing methane from the air, making trees about 10 per cent better for the climate than previously thought.
Methane is a greenhouse gas that is responsible for about a quarter of human-caused global warming.
Scientists have already shown that some trees growing in water-logged soils can emit methane that was generated underground. But the presence of methane-eating microbes known as methanotrophs in tree bark suggests trees could also be a net sink for atmospheric methane.
