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New results synthesized research from drought manipulation studies and revealed the mechanisms by which tree deaths happen. How trees respond to drought is important for models used to predict climate change. Plants take up a large portion of the carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere--fewer trees means more CO2.
Sudden large-scale changes in plant populations, such as the tree die-offs observed worldwide in recent decades, could affect the rate at which climate changes.Image credit: Melanie Zeppel, University of Sydney
