Australian scientists discover tree bark microbes act as natural air purifiers, consuming greenhouse gases

A groundbreaking study published in Science reveals that tiny microbes living in tree bark are secretly working as nature’s air purifiers, consuming significant amounts of harmful greenhouse gases and toxic compounds from the atmosphere. This discovery challenges long-held assumptions about tree bark being merely an inactive protective layer.

Researchers from Australia’s Monash and Southern Cross universities examined eight common tree species across different environments in subtropical eastern Australia. Using advanced genetic analysis and gas measurement techniques, they found that tree bark hosts thriving microbial communities that actively digest methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Methane, one of the gases consumed by these microbes, is at least 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.

“We were spot on with our hypothesis,” says Pok Man Leung, a Monash University research fellow and co-lead author of the study. The research builds on earlier findings from the past decade showing that bark-dwelling microbes consume methane on a global scale, but this new study reveals their appetite extends to multiple atmospheric pollutants.

This discovery could have significant implications for understanding how forests contribute to air quality and climate regulation beyond their well-known role in carbon sequestration. The findings suggest that trees provide even more environmental benefits than previously recognized, with their bark serving as living filters that help cleanse the air of both greenhouse gases and toxic compounds that pose risks to human health and environmental stability.