Scientists Say Forests Are a Possible Carbon Storage Solution
Maybe one of the best things we can do it offset our CO2 is also one of the simplest: stop cutting down trees. In a recent issue of Bioscience, Ohio State University Professor Peter Curtis wrote that carbon storage in Midwestern forests could offset greenhouse gas emissions from two-thirds of the nearby population. Maintaining the forests could even increase storage capacity in the future.
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Curtis and his team based their calculations on measurements taken between 1999 and 2005. The measurements, which factored in climate, history, and tree type, showed that a forested region in northern Michigan could potentially store over 350,000 tons of carbon each year. That adds up to about 62 percent of the region’s emissions.
Interestingly, the majority of the CO2 stored in the researchers’ forested region is located in wood mass and soil organic matter. The remaining CO2 is taken in by stem wood, leaves, and debris.
Curtis’ team also noticed that younger trees hold more carbon than older ones, but aging trees have younger trees underneath them waiting to rejuvenate the forest. They hope that their discovery will help persuade policymakers to leave both old and young forests be.
I doubt that we’ll stop cutting down forests anytime soon, as humans are regrettably shortsighted. But storing CO2 in forests is a great natural option to potentially dangerous alternatives like carbon capture and storage.
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this is not new news…remember the carbon cycle? we all learned it by 6th grade.
The point isn’t that the carbon cycle exists, it’s to show that existing forests make a demonstrable difference in reducing CO2 emissions.
southstep의 생각…
Scientists Say Forests Are a Possible Carbon Storage Solution : CleanTechnica…
I have been saying this for years as it is grade school science. What everyone seems to miss is the fact that much of our country and the planet has been raped for years. Why not take the prison population in the USA to propogate native trees to be planted in their native areas that have been decimated by logging for mining, etc. so many years ago i.e.(Virginia City, Nevada-Comstock Lode)? This is the most viable solution as the trees also have cooling properties-i.e. Shade. Just rememeber you heard it here first as I was trying to find a way to corner the market. Maybe our next leader will get wind of the idea, implement it and take credit. Thanks, Jeff G. Ventura.Ca.
When I first read the title I thought, wow, these scientists have been locked in a lab ever since the 19th century. But I guess it s always good for people to be estimating the worth of forests. We really don t know how much their worth– but it s definitely a lot.
[...] they’re good for more than just shade, harboring wildlife, and carbon storage. A new sensor system developed by Voltree Power uses the energy produced by trees to wirelessly [...]