Trees- even more important than we think

On some level we all know this, but continue to destroy the forests anyway.

Very informative and enlightening article. Vote up!

An awesome find, gotta love science.

Complexity and interconnectedness made manifest: Is the answer to global warming more trees? What an elegant solution,,,

but with trees all over the place where are we going to park our cars?

TREE's IMPORTANT, NO!

If you have ever been in an original old growth forest it obvious how integral trees are.

Mmmmmm, smells like tree spirit.

we need to stop spraying chem trails and planting more trees.

Yeah... this has never been solid information until now, to everybody who's too jaded and lazy to really read this. I just took a course that only suggested the chemicals might be used as exterior communication transmitters or to decrease locally contaminated air. But to increase cloud and sun deflection... that's pretty neat.

This article is awesome!

Thanks Delia. You nailed it. Deforestation. When we have no more trees, we will have no more oxygen.

They look too much like our veins, nerves, and bronchioles/aveoli to not be important.

I know everyone is like "Yeah, so what?"

Climate change is serious, people. Here we are trying to think of ways to combat it, what can we do, etc etc and here ya go: Trees. Yep, TREES.

If we've established how important they are, why are we still ripping down rainforests? Why the continued deforestation? Why do we take it for granted? If everyone already knows this, why do we treat the environment so poorly?

So what else is new? I learned this in high school biology. Everything was created for a purpose.

meanwhile, clear cutting and deforestation keep going and going.

I thought we've established how important trees are already.

Trees are incredible and not just because the are beautiful to look at . I plant at least three trees a year on my property and they give back so much good. Nice article.

I'm reading a book Called "How Nature Works" which explains the gaia theory pretty comprehensively. We are but the bacteria crawling on the planet's skin.

The trees are part of the Earth after all, they help the earth accomplish such tasks, that only they could defend the Earth.....its just the matter of time, before everyone will ACTUALLY value trees and their concepts...

"Scientists in the UK and Germany have discovered that trees release a chemical that thickens clouds above them"

that's amazing!

"...according to a new study that reveals forests help to block out the sun."

- seriously!?
all I have to say is duh.

Damnit- I should have been a tree for Halloween.

This was known for quite some time.

But scientific terms make it sound more important I suppose.

Rubber- no one said trees aren't important! It's not so much that all of the research is new, but that they underestimated tree's abilities as well as the climate danger with chopping too many down.

Thank you for posting!!!

Trees are absolutely amazing in all their forms.

I am compelled to write because of the very notion that trees aren’t important, or "Trees could be more important to the Earth's climate than previously thought”? You can only look at this in one direction, by the very nature of photosynthesis trees are the most important chemical filters we have.
"They think this could have quite a significant effect", what part of molecular science did these Leeds University students not get a grasp of when they studied GCSE biology?
Sorry I don't think there is anything new in this study, just the bare facts we already know.