Does burning wood release all of the carbon a tree has captured in its lifetime? Does a dead decomposing tree do the same?

Question

Anytime carbon capture comes up, the conversation devolves into commenters saying the entire idea is dumb and trees already exist. I’d like to know more about the full life cycle of a tree and if the carbon it captures is permanent.

In: 199

Answer 1

Plants use carbon to build their bodies. So one way to capture carbon is to grow a forest, which captures a bunch of carbon, and when it has reached maturity you cut it down and use the wood as building material. Then you plant more trees. That way, the carbon is stored in buildings instead of being released right back due to the trees burning or decomposing.