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

Short answer: yes to both. The Main Difference between These two is the time IT Takes to Release the Carbon and where it’s released. Burning basically releases all the Carbon instantly into the athmosphere while decay does so over a Long Period of time and is still bound in large amounts into the ground instead the athmosphere