Discover Top Posts Tagged with #tulip trees

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Fiddle in a tree

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Tulip trees were long renowned for their carbon storage. Their unique wood may be responsible.

For as long as scientists have studied trees, we have categorised them into two types based on the sort of wood they make. Softwoods include pines and firs and generally grow faster than hardwoods, like oaks and maples, which can take several decades to mature and make a denser wood. However, our recent research has uncovered something completely new: a third category we’re calling “midwood”. This discovery could prove to be valuable in the fight against rising carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels in Earth’s atmosphere – the primary cause of climate change. Trees are natural carbon sinks. This means they absorb huge amounts of CO₂ from the air and store it in their wood. The tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), also known as the yellow poplar, is a top performer in carbon capture. In the mid-Atlantic US, forests dominated by tulip trees store between two and six times more carbon than forests where other species prevail. The tulip tree is already popular in plantations in parts of south-east Asia and cited as a good choice for carbon capture for gardeners and urban planners in the US. This species, along with its close relative the Chinese tulip tree (Liriodendron chinense), belongs to an ancient lineage dating back 50-30 million years — a period marked by significant shifts in atmospheric CO₂. Only these two species survive. And until recently, their chemistry and structure, which might tell us why these trees are so good at capturing carbon, were largely unknown.

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When tulip trees first evolved, atmospheric CO₂ levels were falling from about 1,000 parts per million (ppm) to 500 ppm. This reduction in available CO₂ may have driven tulip trees to develop a more efficient method of carbon storage, leading to their unique macrofibril structure. Today, this adaptation likely contributes to their exceptional ability to sequester carbon. We can no longer assume, when looking at a previously unstudied tree, that it falls into the same two categories (softwood or hardwood) scientists have placed trees in for years. The tulip tree, with its midwood structure, corresponds with a “carbon-hungry” attitude. We are now looking at whether its seemingly unique wood structure is the sole reason it is king of carbon capture, and we are widening our search to find out if there are any more midwood trees – or even more new wood types out there.

9 September 2024

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