Protecting biodiversity, at the same time battling climate change?

Introduction: Biodiversity decline and climate warming are two important challenges for mankind. New research shows the possibility to address both problems at the same time, in the tropical rain forest. That is the core message a team of Belgian scientists brought along, back from an expedition in the rain forest of the DR Congo. Frederik Van de Perre ( Global Change Ecology Centre , research group Evolutionary Ecology ): "Tropical rain forests do not only provide habitat to multiple animal and plant species. They also take up substantial amounts of carbon dioxide, an important greenhouse gas. Old, pristine forests store more carbon in their biomass and soils than young forests." If forests with highest biodiversity would correspond to the forests storing highest carbon amounts, that would thus benefit both forest functions. Frederik: "While we already know that forests with highest number of tree species store most carbon, we are also aware that biodiversity is more than trees.