While trees have long been known to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the study led by the University of Birmingham in England found that microbes hidden in their bark also absorb methane.

Credits: Getty Images; Author: Justin Paget;

Researchers estimate that the process makes trees 10 percent more beneficial for the climate than previously thought. Methane is responsible for around 30 percent of global warming since pre-industrial times and emissions are rising faster than at any point since records began in the 1980s.