Nature & Environment

There are still three trillion trees on Earth

By T.K. Randall
September 3, 2015 ·  28 comments

Our planet is still teeming with trees. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Deyvid Setti In a new study led by scientists at Yale University it has been revealed that the total number of remaining trees in the entire world is actually far higher than anyone could have predicted.

While earlier estimates had suggested that the world's tree population was only 400 billion, now it is believed to as high as 3 trillion - that's three thousand billion trees - almost 8 times as many.

"[Trees] store huge amounts of carbon, are essential for the cycling of nutrients, for water and air quality, and for countless human services," said lead researcher Thomas Crowther.

"Yet you ask people to estimate, within an order of magnitude, how many trees there are and they don't know where to begin. I don't know what I would have guessed, but I was certainly surprised to find that we were talking about trillions."While the figure is certainly encouraging, scientists have warned that deforestation is still having a sizeable impact on these numbers with 15 billion trees being cut down each year.

It is also believed that the total number of trees has decreased by about half since civilization began.

"We've nearly halved the number of trees on the planet, and we've seen the impacts on climate and human health as a result," said Dr Crowther.

"This study highlights how much more effort is needed if we are to restore healthy forests worldwide."

Source: Sydney Morning Herald | Comments (28)

Tags: Trees, Deforestation