Breaking: Carbon dioxide helps trees grow faster

Global warming may increase the capacity of trees to store carbon

"Tree growth in many of the forests in the United States is limited by the lack of nitrogen," Melillo says. "We found that warming causes nitrogen compounds locked up in soil organic matter to be released as inorganic forms of nitrogen such as ammonium, a common form of nitrogen found in garden fertilizer. When trees take up this inorganic nitrogen, they grow faster and store more carbon."