Forest Soils May Not Store Carbon as Effectively as Thought, but They May Uptake Atmospheric Methane More Than Previously Thought: Forests Also Have Many Ecosystem Service Benefits

    

     This post involves three separate studies: two that quantify the ability of forest soils to store carbon and one that quantifies the uptake of atmospheric methane by forest soils. It also includes another study of the ecosystem benefits of forests. The first study was led by BOKU University and focused on European beech forests in Central Europe. The results suggest that ignoring deep soil carbon levels could lead to overly optimistic estimates of how much carbon forests are able to store. A preceding study also indicated similar results in pine plantations in Scotland. That study found that soil carbon levels were higher by double in nearby grasslands than under a mature planted pine forest.

Prof Subke said: “Our findings emphasised that we cannot over-rely on forests to mitigate the impacts of climate change because there is still so much that we don’t understand.”

“Despite accumulating tree biomass, we may be losing carbon capital – the carbon stored long term in soils and ecosystems – to the atmosphere.”

     The Scotland study found that carbon left in forest soils was less stable and could break down and be released more easily in the future.

Dr Thomas Parker of the James Hutton Institute, who co-authored the commentary, said: “Forests are an essential for human and planetary well-being for a range of reasons, but we need to acknowledge that they are not a silver bullet for all our problems.”

“There are complexities and trade-offs that need to be understood to maximise the net benefits that we gain from forests.”

     These studies show that quantifying carbon uptake and atmospheric release in forest soils is not what we thought it was, which can affect carbon budgeting in climate modeling.

     The study on methane uptake of forests shows that under certain climatic conditions, which are likely in a warming world, uptake of methane by forests is expected to increase. Researchers from the University of Göttingen and the Baden-Württemberg Forest Research Institute (FVA) have evaluated the world's most comprehensive data set on methane uptake by forest soils. Soil gas monitoring in 13 forests in Southwest Germany, including beech and spruce forests, was conducted and tabulated over a 24-year period for the study. This makes it the largest global dataset of continuous CH4-fluxes. The results of the study showed an increase in CH4-uptake of 3% per year on average. 

     According to the paper:

“This study, however, offers unique insights into long-term CH4-uptake variability, with data spanning up to 24 years in 13 forest soils. We observed a high variability in CH4-uptake between the study plots. On average, the observed CH4-uptake was significantly higher than previously expected for temperate forest soils. The large differences between the plots and sites also mean that we cannot simply take an average value for upscaling CH4 uptake e.g. of entire countries. A more detailed investigation of the ecological drivers of this variability at the plot scale and between the plots and identification of proxy parameter is needed to estimate CH4 uptake over larger areas.”

     These studies indicate that we are still learning about greenhouse gas uptake and retention by vegetation, including grasslands and forests. It makes quantifying such things as carbon uptake and retention via reforestation less certain, as there is a lot of variability in quantities.   

 

The Ecosystem Service Benefits of Forests

     Are forests the lungs of the earth, as often stated? Not really. Ocean plankton generate much of our atmospheric oxygen. Oceans, forests, non-forest soils, and other ecosystems are the planet’s main generators of oxygen. Headwaters in forested areas often serve as the origins of our drinking water in natural catchment areas. Forests take up water that would run off in non-forested areas.

     Along with generating oxygen and regulating water, forests also help to filter and purify air pollutants. Trees intercept particulate matter and absorb gaseous pollutants through leaf stomata. A 2014 study showed that trees in rural and urban areas filter air pollution in this way. However, the benefits to overall air quality were less than 1%.

     It has also been found, through studies in the Amazon, that deforestation can increase the incidence of malaria by changing hydrology. In particular, deforestation increases the incidence of stagnant water pooling, which makes habitat for breeding more disease-carrying mosquitoes.

     Forests also interact with the atmosphere to move moisture across continents. They sustain inland moisture transport and precipitation. Thus, they provide a key hydrological balancing function, and removing them can destabilize local and regional hydrology.

     Forests also support local cooling, soil stabilization, and biodiversity. Research suggests that these ecosystem benefits also need to be better quantified.

     According to Everett Sloan at Morning Overview:

“Protecting forests is not only about meeting climate pledges or conserving charismatic wildlife; it also functions as preventive investment in water security, air quality and disease control.”

“At the same time, scientists stress that uncertainties remain, especially around future precipitation patterns and the scale at which mechanisms like the biotic pump operate.”

  

 

References:

 

Deep soil in forests may store carbon less effectively than thought – study. Lucinda Cameron. The Independent. February 10, 2026. Deep soil in forests may store carbon less effectively than thought – study

Forest soils increasingly extract methane from the atmosphere, long-term study reveals. Science X staff. Phys.org. February 4, 2026. Forest soils increasingly extract methane from the atmosphere, long-term study reveals

Forests do far more than store carbon, they literally keep humans alive. Everett Sloane. Morning Overview. February 14, 2026. Forests do far more than store carbon, they literally keep humans alive

Trend analysis of methane uptake in 13 forest soils based on up to 24 years of field measurements in south-west Germany. Verena Lang, Valentin Gartiser, Peter Hartmann, and Martin Maier. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. Volume 375, 15 December 2025, 110823. Trend analysis of methane uptake in 13 forest soils based on up to 24 years of field measurements in south-west Germany - ScienceDirect

Tree and forest effects on air quality and human health in the United States. David J Nowak, Satoshi Hirabayashi, Allison Bodine, and Eric Greenfield. Environmental Pollution. 2014 Oct:193:119-129. Tree and forest effects on air quality and human health in the United States - PubMed