podcast | S2 E2
How cool are trees?
06/02/20
With Dr Cat Scott
Produced by Paloma Trascasa-Castro
Today we are joined by Dr Cat Scott, an Academic Fellow in Biosphere-Climate Interactions at the University of Leeds. She studies how changes in land-use can mitigate climate change, as well as interactions between trees and climate. She is the director of the Leeds Ecosystem, Atmosphere and Forest (LEAF) Centre.
Trees are very powerful natural machines that absorb tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere, store it, and use it to grow. With around a third of the planet covered by trees, deforestation and forest fires are reducing this cover and contributing to climate change.
Depending on the type of tree and where they are, different trees can have different effects on climate. For example, trees in tropical locations, like the Amazon, supply more moisture that feeds into weather systems.
So what are some of the additional benefits of trees?
Trees are also considered as a way to improve air quality in cities. Cat gives us some insight from the “Living Labs for Air Quality ” project and discusses how they measure, analyse, and map the trees and air quality in and around the University of Leeds. Did you know that we have more than 100 different tree species on campus?
Are trees the solution to climate change? Find the answer to this and many more questions on this episode, we hope you enjoy it!
