New research suggests tropical forests are absorbing more carbon dioxide than researchers previously predicted.

NASA's new study suggests the Earth's tropical forests absorb about 1.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide out of 2.5 billion tons of the gas the planet produces. This absorption is more than the gas absorbed by forests in Siberia, Canada and boreal forests.

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The new findings sprang from a comparison of carbon dioxide estimates from various resources, including satellite images and computer models. Scientists say the models they used are accurate and trustworthy.

"This is good news, because uptake in boreal forests is already slowing, while tropical forests may continue to take up carbon for many years," said lead author David Schimel of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

Forests absorb 30 percent of man-made carbon dioxide emissions. This process is known as carbon fertilization.

Now, if the rate of absorption drops, global warming rate will speed-up.

Past models show mid-latitude forests in the Northern Hemisphere absorb more carbon dioxide than tropical forests, but measurements taken from aircraft disputed that theory. These new findings back-up the idea that tropical forests are actually making a greater impact on carbon dioxide absorption.

The new findings were published in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.

TagsTropical Forests, carbon dioxide, man-made carbon dioxide, carbon fertilization, global warming, NASA