Earth's forests are being affected by climate change and this has become a big concern for scientists. Climate change is affecting plants with increasing temperatures. The rise in temperature adversely affects growth and development of plants. However, a latest research could be hopeful as it seems that trees manage by making use of less water with additional carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the air.

European forests have been already affected by increased atmospheric CO2 concentrations. These forests have shown large-scale physiological responses as a result of climate change. It has been observed that the efficiency of water-use of trees has also changed a lot.

According to the study, water-use efficiency of European broadleaf and coniferous trees has increased since the beginning of the 20th century by 14% and 22%, respectively. The study has been published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Trees take up CO2 from the air and then lose water vapor (H2O) through tiny pores of their leaves or needles that are called stomata. This occurs during the natural process of photosynthesis. And the gas exchanging process between trees and the atmosphere is regulated through the opening widths of their stomata.

Broader apertures of the stomata help plants absorb more CO2 molecules, but it leads to an increased loss of water vapor (transpiration) into the atmosphere. The case is opposite for narrowed apertures.

According to study co-author Gerhard Helle, at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, "Assuming that the trees demand for CO2 does not change, they can reduce the aperture of the stomates of their leaves and needles under increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. This should lower the rates of transpiration and minimize the tree's water loss". However, Helle added that over the twentieth century, a 5% increase in European forest transpiration was observed.