Should We Farm the Forests?
An old-growth forest.
Last year, the Canadian government commissioned a study to determine the quantity of carbon sequestered by the country's woodlands. To their surprise, the study found that during many years Canadian forests actually gave up more carbon from decomposed wood than they locked down during new growth.
According to the Wired Magazine report, a tree shifts from being a vacuum cleaner for atmospheric carbon to an emitter during the course of its long lifetime.
On average, the study found that a tree takes in 1,500 pounds of carbon dioxide during the first 55 years of life, then gradually takes in less. Eventually, the tree slowly rots or burns and all that carbon dioxide gets released.
The article goes on and explains how the idea of a tree farm would take huge amounts of carbon out of the atmosphere.........Clear the oldest trees and then take out dead trunks and branches to prevent fires; landfill the scrap. Plant lots of seedlings and harvest them as soon as their powers of carbon sequestration begin to flag, and use the wood to produce only high-quality durable goods like furniture and houses.
