https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu/ en https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu/media/2025/12/26/scientists-issue-warning-after-discovering-concerning-phenomenon-forests-these <span>Scientists issue warning after discovering concerning phenomenon in forests: 'These results flip our assumptions'</span> <span><span>tomwt</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-01-02T07:44:29-08:00" title="Friday, January 2, 2026 - 07:44">Fri, 01/02/2026 - 07:44</time> </span> <a href="https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu/in-the-media">More CNAS in the Media</a> Catherine Wilkins | The Cool Down <time datetime="2025-12-26T12:00:00Z">December 26, 2025</time> <p>THE COOL DOWN - Rising global temperatures are still a major concern for scientists, but new research found that warmer and drier conditions might actually lower the amount of pollution released into the atmosphere in certain forests.</p><p><strong>What's happening?</strong><br>Researchers from the University of California, Riverside, found that rising global temperatures may be reducing nitrogen emissions in places with little rainfall, according to UCR News.</p><p>The study, published in the journal PNAS, was led by a team of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers based in Shenyang City, China.</p><p>Per UCR News, global temperatures are expected to rise by about 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by mid-century. Researchers simulated the change in forest plots using mounted infrared heaters and discovered that nitrous oxide emissions dropped 16%.&nbsp;</p><p>The study found that warmer conditions led to dry soils and reduced gas emissions in areas with less than 40 inches of rain per year. However, warming increased nitrogen loss in wetter forests.</p><p><a href="https://profiles.ucr.edu/peter.homyak1" target="_blank" title="Pete Homyak"><strong>Pete Homyak</strong></a><strong>, an associate professor of environmental sciences</strong>, said soil moisture is critical for research.&nbsp;</p><p><a class="btn-ucr" href="https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/nitrogen-dioxide-drought-in-forests/" target="_blank" title="Read the Full Article" aria-label="Read the Full Article">Read the Full Article</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="tags-title">Tags</div> <div class="tags-list"> <div><a href="https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu/tags/department-environmental-sciences" hreflang="en">Department of Environmental Sciences</a></div> <div><a href="https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu/tags/peter-homyak" hreflang="en">Peter Homyak</a></div> </div> <div class="sharing-title">Share This</div><span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu/media/2025/12/26/scientists-issue-warning-after-discovering-concerning-phenomenon-forests-these" data-a2a-title="Scientists issue warning after discovering concerning phenomenon in forests: 'These results flip our assumptions'"><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_x"></a><a class="a2a_button_linkedin"></a><a class="a2a_button_google_plus"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a><a class="a2a_button_printfriendly"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" aria-label="more options to share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fcnasscholarships.ucr.edu%2Fmedia%2F2025%2F12%2F26%2Fscientists-issue-warning-after-discovering-concerning-phenomenon-forests-these&amp;title=Scientists%20issue%20warning%20after%20discovering%20concerning%20phenomenon%20in%20forests%3A%20%27These%20results%20flip%20our%20assumptions%27"></a></span><script> (function () { const customClassName = 'show-for-sr'; const targetContainer = document.querySelector('.a2a_kit.addtoany_list'); if (!targetContainer) return; const addClassToLabels = () => { const labels = targetContainer.querySelectorAll('.a2a_label'); if (labels.length > 0) { labels.forEach(label => { if (!label.classList.contains(customClassName)) { label.classList.add(customClassName); } }); console.log('Successfully applied show-for-sr class to AddToAny labels.'); return true; } return false; }; const observerConfig = { childList: true, subtree: true }; const observer = new MutationObserver((mutationsList, observer) => { if (addClassToLabels()) { observer.disconnect(); } }); if (!addClassToLabels()) { observer.observe(targetContainer, observerConfig); } })(); </script> Fri, 02 Jan 2026 15:44:29 +0000 tomwt 3953 at https://cnasscholarships.ucr.edu