Pine forests may pollute more than traffic, industry
Originally Published on FYILondon.com

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OTTAWA -- Coniferous forests around the world may be emitting more smog-causing nitrogen oxides than traffic and industry combined, suggests a report in the prestigious journal Nature.

The report, released yesterday, flies in the face of the accepted view that forests reduce pollution by absorbing it -- a theory Canada relied on in demanding credit for forests as pollution "sinks" under the Kyoto climate change accord.

But environmentalists aren't about to blacklist Scotch pines.

They note forest emissions are part of a natural balance that has existed since pre-industrial times and say man-made emissions are behind most pollution and global warming.

Scotch pine needles release nitrogen oxides directly into the atmosphere when exposed to ultraviolet light, says a study led by Perrti Hari of the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Nitrogen oxides are smog precursors: they combine with other pollutants to form ground-level ozone, a major component of smog.

The emissions from Scotch pines increase in proportion to the amount of ultraviolet radiation they receive, the study says.

"Although this contribution is insignificant on a local scale, our findings suggest that global NOx emissions from boreal coniferous forests may be comparable to those produced by worldwide industrial and traffic sources," the report says.