Researchers reveal that the estimated number of trees that are growing on Earth is not by the billions but to 3 trillion trees. Even if this sounds like good news, scientists say that the number of trees on Earth is apparently cut in half ever since the dawn of human civilization.
Researchers from Yale University have utilized satellite imagery along with current forest inventories in order to create a computer simulation yielding a 3 trillion estimate which is also eight times more than prior estimates.
Every year, 15 billion trees are apparently cut down for human consumption which is decreasing the world's overall forest populations by 46 percent ever since human civilizations applied agriculture some 12,000 years ago, according to the researchers.
According to lead author of the study, Thomas Crowther from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, trees are the most prominent and critical organisms on the planet right now and yet, we are only starting to understand their global extent and distribution.
Crowther and his team conducted a thorough analysis from data using ground based counts on every continent except for Antarctica that allowed them to reach a more accurate tree density estimate from satellite imagery. Crowther says, we did not discover any new trees but the team added a new layer of data that is crucial to the revision of prior estimates.
This new research shows that the highest tree densities were from boreal forests located in North America, Russia and Scandinavia that makes up 24 percent of the overall global tree population.
Trees have a pivotal role in the environment where they store massive amounts of carbon and recycle nutrients across all ecosystems, leading to improved air and water quality and also, providing the basic needs of humans. Although Crowther says that people have no idea about tree estimates in the world, the numbers are being off by a magnitude, surprising scientists that numbers reached to trillions.
A prior estimate involves 400 billion trees making 61 trees for every person on Earth however, now, this new figure reveals that there are actually 3.04 trillion trees on the planet which makes 422 trees for every person.
With this new estimate, researchers are hopeful that this can produce better predictions about biodiversity and carbon storage on a global scale. This also provides an idea of the impact of human activities on the world's tree populations such as deforestation, forest management and land use.
Crowther adds that half of the trees on the planet are already cut down and used by humans where the effects of climate change can already be felt by everyone. This study aims to highlight how much more effort is required in order to restore healthy forests. This new study is published in the journal, Nature.