Tree Bark Microbes Eat Methane, Boost Climate Benefits

Every tree on Earth is secretly hosting trillions of tiny climate warriors that scientists just discovered.

Researchers in Australia found that common tree bark harbors massive communities of microbes that feast on methane, carbon monoxide, and other gases warming our planet. Until recently, bark was considered just a protective shell with little life, but this study published in Science reveals trees do far more than absorb carbon dioxide.

The team from Monash and Southern Cross universities tested eight tree species across eastern Australia. They found up to 6 trillion microbes per square meter of bark, many never described before, actively consuming greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants.

"It totally revises our understanding that trees are not just absorbing CO2, but with the microbes that live on the surface, can also remove multiple other greenhouse gases," says study co-lead Pok Man Leung. The climate benefit of forests may be vastly underestimated.

Methane traps at least 20 times more heat than carbon dioxide, making these bark microbes particularly valuable allies. Wetland trees showed the strongest methane-eating communities, while every tree tested contained hydrogen-consuming microbes.

The scale matters enormously. Tree bark covers as much surface area globally as all the land on Earth, and researchers estimate these microbes could remove up to 2% of atmospheric hydrogen annually.

The Ripple Effect

This discovery opens exciting possibilities for fighting climate change through smarter tree planting. Scientists can now identify which tree species host the most powerful gas-eating microbes, then prioritize those species for reforestation projects worldwide.

Urban planners could plant specific trees in cities to reduce both greenhouse gases and air pollution that harms human health. The microbes naturally remove carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds alongside methane.

The research teams are already expanding their work to tropical regions and investigating whether bark microbes might also consume nitrous oxide, another potent greenhouse gas. Each finding strengthens the case that protecting and planting forests delivers climate benefits we're only beginning to understand.

Lisa Stein, a climate change microbiologist not involved in the study, calls the work confirmation "that we occupy a predominantly microbial world that is operating in harmony with every life form and ecosystem on the planet."

The next generation of climate solutions might have been clinging to trees all along, waiting for us to notice.