New paper: More tree species โก๏ธ less heat peaks ๐ณ๐ก๏ธ Below the #forest canopy it is cooler during heat waves and warmer during cold waves than in the surrounding area.
This temperature buffering is all the stronger the more tree species grow in the forest. The new study by researchers from #iDiv, @UniHalle and #UniLeipzig was carried out in the large-scale planted forest experiment #BEFChina.
https://www.uni-leipzig.de/en/newsdetail/artikel/tree-diversity-helps-reduce-heat-peaks-in-forests-2025-03-25
#heat #climatecrisis #trees Photo: Florian Schnabel

Tree diversity helps reduce heat peaks in forests
A forest with high tree-species diversity is better at buffering heat peaks in summer and cold peaks in winter than a forest with fewer tree species. This is the result of a study led by researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig University, and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). The study was carried out in a large-scale planted forest experiment in China, and has been published in the journal Ecology Letters. It provides yet another argument for diversifying tree species in forests, especially under ongoing climate change.