Trees play a central role in life on Earth. They store CO₂, provide habitats for animals, fungi, and insects, stabilize soils, regulate water cycles, and supply resources that humans rely on—from timber and food to recreation and shade on a hot day.
But the world’s forests are entering a new era, characterized by homogenization, biodiversity loss, and weakened ecosystems. This is shown by a comprehensive international study published in Nature Plants.
The researchers analyzed more than 31,000 tree species worldwide and provided a global picture of how forests are likely to change—in terms of composition, resilience, and ecological functioning.
According to the study, forests will increasingly be dominated by fast-growing tree types, while slow-growing and more specialized species are at risk of disappearing.
This is a worrying development, according to Jens-Christian Svenning, Professor and Director of the Danish National Research Foundation’s Center for Ecological Dynamics in a Novel Biosphere (ECONOVO) at the Department of Biology, Aarhus University, and one of the leading authors of the study.
He warns particularly against the loss of tree species that occur only in very limited areas of the world.
