This topic really surged after the #TeamTrees movement, but has fallen off pretty significantly. I’ve heard a lot about how reforestation just doesn’t have the carbon capture capability required for it to be sustainable in the long run, but I would think that enough trees would offset at least SOME greenhouse emissions.
In: Planetary Science
As you grow a forest you capture carbon. Once it’s grown the capture stops and you have to leave that land forested to keep the carbon captured. If the forest is cut down or burnt or dies then the captured carbon is released. So forests only permanently capture a fixed amount of carbon in return for permanently using a fixed amount of land.
Grown forests will have large trees dying which then rot, releasing their carbon, and new trees grow to maintain a steady state. Logging for building and paper helps a little, but almost all that timber has a very short lifespan as wood or paper products.
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