If a Tree Farts in the Forest, Does it Make a Sound?

Ecologist Melinda Martinez Measures “Tree Farts” with Gas Analyzer

I gotta say, you really have to believe in yet to be proven pseudointellectual theories and endeavor to save mother earth from natural climate change to attend university for 4 to 8 years only to find yourself voluntarily slogging through a snake infested marsh in the middle of nowhere, knee deep in mud toting a gas analyzer to measure tree flatulence. 

According to experts on the subject, gases released by dead trees — dubbed “tree farts” — account for a good portion of greenhouse gases. While these emissions pale in comparison with other sources, an accurate accounting is necessary to get a full picture of where those climate-warming gases are coming from.

A team of ecologists in North Carolina went sniffing for tree farts  which form when saltwater from rising sea levels sinking shorelines poison a woodland, leaving behind a marsh full of standing dead trees called 'Ghost Forrest". They tell us dead trees decay and stop taking up carbon dioxide through photosynthesis so the results are going to be a major greenhouse gas source.

In the grand scheme of carbon emissions, ghost forests role may be minor. Tree flatulence has nothing on those dangerous cow farts.  A single prolific gas spewing bovine fart machine can emit up to 27 grams of methane, a far more potent gas than CO2 per hour. But we are told accounting for even minor sources of carbon is said to be important for fine-tuning our understanding of the global carbon budget, what ever that is.

~ Thank You MJA@IOTWReport for the Linkage! ~