How Old-Growth Forests Protect Our Climate

Huge age-old trees are of vital importance for our ecosystem. They help to sustain life on Earth. My lifelong goal is to save big trees. They are probably the most important bar of gold on the planet. But all over the world, those big trees are under threat. It's high time we began saving the last remaining giants of our forests. The Amazon has been called South America's River of Life. For a special group of visitors, it's their passageway deep into the Peruvian rainforest. Meg Lauman has pioneered research into forest canopies. She's taking the amateur researchers on an expedition to see the largest trees of the rainforest. And they're only reachable by water. Why, why, why did any of you come here? And why should you look at the Amazon? You know, truly, this ecosystem keeps all of us alive. This Amazon is also called the lungs of the planet. It's the highest diversity in the world here. The American biologist has dedicated her life to studying the huge trees here that are hundreds of years old. They help purify the air, safeguard biodiversity, and stabilize our climate. But they're in grave danger from global warming and deforestation. New ideas are needed to protect these giants and their unique habitats. Meg Lauman has a clear objective, to preserve the trees and make their unique canopy accessible to others, including ecotourists. Okay, so follow Willie, everybody that's ready. You go ahead and find us a Sacropia tree. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Oh, listen, there go parrots. A whole flock of parrots. They're welcoming you. During her expeditions, tourists become researchers. They begin their study on the ground, before later taking to the treetops. Together, the group examines the condition of the trees and their leaves, and records the insects they find. Okay, I'm coming to answer any questions. This isn't leaf mining, right? This is just shredding. I'll bite. That's amazing you asked that, because it is biting. So they go through the middle and make, that's why they're called miners. This is so cool. What'd you find? There's a full-on chase. The spider is trying to eat the ant. Having extra pairs of eyes is useful for picking up all that's going on in this vibrant world. Amateur researchers often notice things that a more experienced scientist might not bother with, which is why citizen science is becoming increasingly important in research. It's a tarantula hole, so I'm going to respect its space. That's right. Meg Laumann is considered a pioneer in researching treetops. In the late 1970s, she discovered a world previously unknown to science, 35 meters above the ground. She coined the term Arbonaut, for a biologist who explores the forest canopy. I'm just a girl from a small town. I didn't have any scientist friends, and my parents were teachers. And I sort of, I don't know, I liked nature and I went to nature. But when I finally kept studying trees, I realized everybody always studied the bottom. The only time they saw the top of the tree is if they cut it down. I called it sort of like if you went to the doctor and he looked at your big toe and said, you know, your brain's okay, your hearing's fine, your eyesight's great. You would say, this is crazy because it's only the bottom of my whole body. So she made her way to the very top to study the canopy of these forest giants. In the process, entering a world that no researcher before her had ever seen. Then I got to the full canopy and it was like full of life. Because so many species live up there, probably 50% of what lives on planet Earth, I and a few others started calling it the eighth continent. She discovered a complex ecosystem high up in the trees, where there is still a wealth of species that have yet to be studied. Back to the present. Eight-year-old Holden is busy discovering life on the forest floor. Go up my arm. Oh, there he goes. Can someone take a picture of him? I got a picture. Leslie Johnson was keen to show her son more of the world. We live in a city, and it's really important to us that he get in touch with nature. And this sounded like such a great adventure, and to go with a real science, a world-class scientist. One visitor, Alex Smith, is a biologist. So for him, the trip is also interesting from a professional viewpoint. A lot more new leaves are in the canopy, so that's the place to be. I guess my expectations are kind of high based off what Meg has told us, like calling it the eighth continent. This is just like the real deal. But this ecosystem is under threat. Over the past 30 years, well over 400,000 square kilometers of forest have been cleared throughout the Amazon region. That's an area roughly the size of Germany and Denmark combined. In my lifetime, over half of the world's primary forests have been cut down. That's a terrible track record for me and my scientific colleagues. So we need to do things differently. It's kind of why I'm branching out on a limb, so to speak, to go into the world of canopy walkways instead of just pure research. By having special walkways built, Meg Laumann makes canopy areas accessible to everyone, with rope bridges connecting large old trees. They've become places of research and education, and the tour group is about to visit this one at a height of over 35 meters. Germany was once also rich in primeval forest. Remnants still existed into the Middle Ages. Today, commercial forests with fast-growing conifers dominate the landscape. The Kennerwald-Edersee National Park is home to one of Europe's few untouched primeval forests. They now cover just 0.2 percent of Europe's land surface. Forest ecologist Pierre Ibisch and startup founder Anselm Schneider want to safeguard what's left. They understand the value of these big old trees. So the surface temperature is 18.8 degrees, which is interesting. The air temperature towards the light is 23.2 degrees, so we have 5 degrees less here. Yeah, I would have guessed that by the feel of this. Trees consist of 50 percent water and help cool the forest. They also absorb CO2 and release oxygen. The bigger the tree gets, the more CO2 it can store. Up to half of the carbon that a tree can sequester is absorbed in the last quarter of its life. These old trees are invaluable to a forest ecosystem. That makes it all the sadder that you only find them now in national parks or small-scale reserves. And that's because foresters tend to say, if a tree is 120 or 150 years old, it's time for it to go. Pierre Ibisch and Anselm Schneider are fighting for forests to be allowed to grow old again. After the Second World War, large areas of Germany were reforested with conifers. But these monocultures can't withstand climate change. Drought, forest fires, pests and the timber industry are decimating their populations. The result is large areas bereft of trees and temperatures in Germany are rising. 43.2 degrees. If we turn it over, underneath it's 15.7 degrees. If the forest canopy is gone and the trees are no longer releasing water vapor, the landscape heats up and conditions for plants get worse and worse. That's why Anselm Schneider and three associates founded the Woodify startup. Barren areas like this are to become a thing of the past. We believe clearing the land like this is a total disaster. Given everything we know, we're convinced it's totally wrong to continue clearing trees when our climate is changing. The startup has developed a business model that aims to use the forest in a completely different way. The idea is that forest owners now make money not from timber, but from benefiting the climate by simply leaving the forest alone. Woodify co-founder Anselm Schneider is actually a doctor. Now he's also focusing on the health of forests. This is how it works. Woodify draws up a contract with forest owners agreeing that no trees will be felled for 30 years. In this way, more carbon can be stored than if the forest continues to be used commercially. Certificates are issued for this carbon sequestration, which Woodify then sells to companies that want to reduce their CO2 footprint. When we start with these projects, something really interesting happens. The forest gets messy. That's what people actually tell us. They can't believe that we just leave fallen trees where they are. People have this image of forests having to be tidy. A natural forest is not tidy. It's a forest with dead wood, dying trees and new life. And dead wood in particular has an important function. This one's been lying here for a while. The process of decay is quite advanced. And a trunk like this is wet inside. Look at that. It's still wood. But squeeze it, and water drips out. Look how much liquid there is in just one handful. Amazing. And this wouldn't be the cause or fuel of a forest fire. It's a water tank lying on the ground here. It would slow down a fire, right? Forests like these help cool the air, as is reflected in the measurements taken by Pierre Ibisch and Karolina Meier. She's another forest ecologist from the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development. What's it saying? It peaked on June 6, so a few days ago. It's now gone down a bit. So we're not seeing the extremely high temperatures that we get elsewhere. We're measuring a microclimate here. We have data loggers for humidity and temperature, and they measure and record the data roughly every ten minutes. And we've been at it for about a year now. This is confirming our expectation that on days when the temperatures are really high, the forest stays relatively cool. And that gives it a certain stability. The university's experts are also measuring the increase in the biomass of the forest. That's important information for the start-up's activities. They study the areas we've removed from commercial use. We want to understand what's happening there and be able to prove that this change is taking place. One third of Germany is forested. If our idea works out, we'll be able to turn a lot of that back to natural forest. But for his work to really take off, he and his team need to find companies that are willing to invest. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 kilometers away, Meg Laumann also relies on help from others to save the giants of the Amazon rainforest. The indigenous Maijuna community operate and maintain her treetop walkways. We're so grateful to come here and see a community using nature, saving nature, because it's, you know, our hope that we can just help make that process. It's all about local communities and it's really their land and their biodiversity. It's now time for the visitors to experience that biodiversity up in the treetops. It's way up there. Yeah, it's higher up than I thought it was going to be. Looks cool? It's going to be awesome. It's super exciting, and this was kind of like the highlight of the trip in the first place, so it definitely feels like we're hitting a climax. Every step to the top was financed by donations. In total, the walkway cost 750,000 U.S. dollars. Oh, I'm kind of scared. So, who wants to go first? Me. Oh, it's wobbling. Finally, the travelers are about to experience Meg Lauman's world at first hand, the Eighth Continent, as she calls it, 35 meters above the ground. The canopy of the rainforest is bright, loud, and humid. The treetop walk is one of the longest in the world. It stretches half a kilometer and connects 14 of the largest trees in the area. They grow down, yes. They just start dropping down. Exactly. That was fun. Oh, this is fun. Here we are in the Amazon canopy, so full of activity and life and action and productivity from the sun through the leaves and oxygen and millions of species buzzing around our heads. It's just an extraordinary place to be. It almost makes me dizzy. The walkway is maintained by local indigenous families. They also work as field guides and provide catering and accommodation for the visitors. This generates income for the local communities in ways that don't harm the rainforest. And the visitors come away with plenty of food for thought. I think it's really important to bring non-scientists here because right now they are the voters, they are the consumers of products that are cutting the forest down, they are the people that need educating. The forest canopy is an impressive classroom. Meg Lauman wants to implement her vision in the 10 most biodiverse and endangered forests worldwide. After walkways in Peru, Malaysia, and the United States, she's now working on a new one in Madagascar. The conservationist will need $10 million to complete her life's work. If I can save big trees by building 10 canopy walkways in the 10 most important and endangered forests of the world, I will go to the grave feeling at peace and know that I've done the best I can for my children. Now aged 70, Meg Lauman has long been an inspiration to others. And that's important because a strong network of supporters is needed if she's to complete her mission. She's also inspiring the next generation of researchers to keep up the good work. Just being a biologist myself, to come somewhere like the Amazon rainforest, so it was really, really cool to be able to come and see everything that's down here and be here for scientific reasons too, to meet Dr. Lauman and see the research facility and participate in some of that research. It's just really, really cool stuff. By coming here, people like Alex Smith are helping to secure the livelihoods of up to 110 local families. Sebastian Rios Ochoa is one of the local field guides. He leads the visitors along the walkway. We're using the forest in a sustainable way. We're now protecting our land. And over the years, we've noticed that the wildlife is starting to return. The 70-year-old belongs to the indigenous Mayjuna group. They're a remote community who live deep inside the Amazon rainforest. Their village can only be reached by boat. Sebastian Rios Ochoa is the village elder. He understands the forest and how to live from it. Knowledge passed down from his ancestors that he now shares with visitors. If I'm standing here and my friends or family can't find me, I can get in touch with them this way. It's a very interesting method of communication. We used to cut down the whole tree. Now, we only take the good leaves. How many leaves do you need to make a roof or a home? The good leaves last up to 100 years. We use between 100 and 200, depending on how wide the house is. He learned the art of weaving the leaves from his mother. Thank you. Incredible. The treetop walk is not the end of the road for the amateur explorers. There's another highlight still awaiting the group. But first, back to Germany. The Woodify startup has also recognized the importance of raising public awareness. Of the impact that natural forests have on our climate. In the Loreley Valley, on Germany's Rhine River, Woodify founder Anselm Schneider is meeting with Judith Stühlen from Forest Gum. The chewing gum manufacturer wants to purchase carbon certificates and invest in a new forest. This is the loop of the Mosel River. This is our latest project, with the areas outlined in green. It includes mixed forests, but also spruce forests that are dying, like in your project. We also have one plot that's larger and contiguous, but otherwise small plots. Protecting forests is part of the company's concept. The ingredients for their product come from trees in Mexico. Instead of using a substance made of plastic, like with conventional chewing gum, we use a substance made of chicle. Chicle is the sap from the sapodilla tree. It's harvested by carefully tapping the tree. It's a very sustainable way of harvesting this tree sap. So that's one form of forest conservation that we do. But now, thanks to Woodify, we can also do something locally here in Germany to protect forests. The company has already invested in a number of areas. Today, Judith Studen wants to see how a forest recovers if left alone. Here in the Loreley Valley, the changes are very visible. If we can leave the trees standing thanks to the contribution of companies like yours, there's far more shade, and that increases year by year. Woodify's vision is catching on. Companies from telecom giants to management consultancies have already bought certificates. Judith Studen and her team also made a conscious decision in favor of this startup. We spent a really long time doing research because we wanted to invest in a project where we could measure its impact, and we wanted to do that here in Germany. And with Woodify, we can measure how the forest ecosystem is performing, thanks to the cooperation with the University of Eberswalde and with Pierre Ibisch. We can track it over the years and show others what happens if we just leave the forest alone. A mixed deciduous forest is what really belongs here. I've seen lots of oaks and birches. Oaks, beech trees, birches, the odd pine tree. A few of the pines are dying now. Climate change is happening so fast, and we're really behind the curve. This is a time to think big and be bold. Finding companies willing to buy carbon certificates is one thing, but Woodify first needs to gain access to the forest. In Germany, forests are either private property or belong to local authorities. One community on the Mosel River has agreed to set aside some of its forest, where no wood will be harvested for 30 years. In return, Woodify gives them financial compensation. We need to rethink. As a forest owner, you need to consider how you can generate new sources of income. The pine wood will be gone in a few years. When I look at the forest here, it's not 100% healthy. It's ailing everywhere. But with this project, I can see the forest recovering in future. If you look at it in terms of value creation, the authorities are harvesting the forest's climate performance instead of wood. And that's a change of mindset. Harvesting wood involves chopping down trees, whereas for climate, the more trees left standing, the better. Today, Anselm Schneider is signing a contract with two local authorities here. It applies to an area of forest covering almost 300 hectares that will be left to its own devices until 2053. To our future cooperation. For the next 30 years. There's still a long way to go to re-naturalize Germany's forests, but every new area that is left to recover is another step forward. Meg Laumann also has a big vision. To leave a functioning and flourishing planet for future generations. Educating citizen scientists is another step along the way. Together they go through the leaves they found on their field trip and learn why each one is important. Pick up that one, darling. Hold that up. That baby is one of my favorites. That's called Inga. It's a very steady, hard-wooded tree that supports a lot of the canopy walkway. Look at the stems on that. Look at these stems. Can you see something funny about the stem of that leaf? It's like thick. Yeah, it's got leaf on it. It's a stem with leaf on it. Isn't that wild? So it's like maximizing its opportunity to make energy from the sun. And that's why citizen science and bioblitzes and volunteering in science is actually emerging as a very important part of getting better science than just the scientists alone. Just before the end of their expedition, there's another special highlight awaiting the group. They're about to return to the treetops, but this time without the walkway. Biologist Alex Smith is bowled over by what he's experienced so far. So now being in the jungle, seeing an entirely new country, an entirely new place, an entirely new people group, an entirely new way of life really just drives home that idea of like, hey, there is something larger than just yourself worth protecting and worth working for out here. Meg Laumann was one of the first scientists to explore treetops in this way. Now others are following in her footsteps. We really need the next generation involved to become arbornauts so the next generation has an opportunity for amazing discoveries. And they need to do it quickly before so many more trees disappear. And I'm going to climb trees like Meg. When Meg Laumann began her career 45 years ago, the giants of the forest were still everywhere. Huge kapok trees over 400 years old. Since then, many have been cut down. But the tree where it all began is still standing tall. Oh my gosh, I'm looking at that branch we climbed and thinking, how did we ever do that? It's really tough to be the only big tree in the neighborhood. You need other big trees. But my hope is that this tree someday will be joined by others and that all the rest of the big trees along the Amazon will be spared from the chainsaw. Protecting the old trees and helping the young ones to grow old is the only way forests can remain vibrant and healthy and continue protecting our climate.