Planting trees in the wrong places can actually contribute to global warming, scientists said Tuesday, but a new map identifies the best places to reforest and cool the planet. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, and restoring degraded forest areas or planting seedlings to strengthen forest cover is one tool in the fight against climate change.

But in some cases, more trees mean less sunlight is reflected from the Earth's surface and the planet absorbs more heat, according to a study in the journal Nature Communications .

"There are places where bringing back trees leads to net climate negative outcomes," Susan Cook-Patton, one of the study's co-authors, told AFP.

Scientists already understood that tree cover restoration led to changes in albedo — the amount of sunlight reflected off the planet's surface — but they didn't have the tools to explain it, she said. (by Nick Perry, more at phys.org)