Overview

• Researchers at the Technical University of Munich developed the model to quantify lightning-induced tree mortality worldwide.
• The simulation calculates that lightning eliminates 320 million trees annually, accounting for 2.1 percent to 2.9 percent of global plant biomass loss.
• Biomass decay from trees killed by lightning emits between 0.77 and 1.09 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
• Lightning-related tree deaths are most concentrated in tropical forests under current climate conditions.
• Climate projections forecast rising lightning frequency, which is likely to increase tree mortality and shift major impacts to temperate and boreal forests.