Washington [US], December 3 (ANI): A new analysis of more than 20,000 trees on five continents shows that old-growth trees are more drought tolerant than younger trees in the forest canopy and may be better able to withstand future climate extremes.

The findings highlight the importance of preserving the world's remaining old-growth forests, which are biodiversity strongholds that store vast amounts of planet-warming carbon, according to University of Michigan forest ecologist Tsun Fung (Tom) Au, a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Global Change Biology.

Also Read | International Cheetah Day 2022 Date: Know the History and Significance of the Day Aiming To Help Save the Fastest Land Animal From Extinction.

"The number of old-growth forests on the planet is declining, while drought is predicted to be more frequent and more intense in the future," said Au, lead author of the study published online Dec. 1 in the journal Nature Climate Change.

"Given their high resistance to drought and their exceptional carbon storage capacity, conservation of older trees in the upper canopy should be the top priority from a climate mitigation perspective."

Also Read | Elon Musk Reveals How Twitter Suppressed Hunter Biden’s Laptop Story in 2020 During US Presidential Elections.

The researchers also found that younger trees in the upper canopy -- if they manage to survive drought -- showed greater resilience, defined as the ability to return to pre-drought growth rates.

While deforestation, selective logging and other threats have led to the global decline of old-growth forests, subsequent reforestation -- either through natural succession or through tree planting -- has led to forests dominated by increasingly younger trees.

For example, the area covered by younger trees (

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)