Hello Dr. Johnson, I'd like to supplement some of the points made by Jason Hernandez, which are all right on.
The best way to promote carbon sequestration is to plant a resilient forest: one that has a combination of tree species so you are buffered against pests and diseases, and then plan for what you will do with the trees after they die. If you plant trees which can be used to create furniture, such as cherry, oaks or pines, you will be creating a more permanent carbon sink. Also you can direct dead trees to a facility which will burn them for fuel: this will not only produce "carbon neutral" power, but will prevent more fossil fuels from being used. Finally, you can compost tree matter (leaves, pruned branches, etc). Although much of the carbon will be released, some will remain in the soil, which is actually a very under appreciated "carbon sink". An aside: besides providing for carbon storage, trees help cities in a huge variety of ways. They improve urban streams by intercepting storm water (prevent flooding), stabilizing and creating soil, contributing organic matter, and cooling stream water. Trees cool streets and buildings, reducing air conditioning costs (and therefor lessening the electricity needed to climate control the building). They remove pollutants from the air, and provide habitats for birds, bugs, squirrels, and other wildlife. Katie Rose On Sun, Feb 26, 2012 at 11:52 AM, Jason Hernandez <[email protected]> wrote: > Your criteria are shared by countless homeowners wanting to landscape their > yards (fast growing, long-lived, low maintenance). Unfortunately, there are > physiological tradeoffs involved, whereby fast growing trees tend to "live > fast" in other ways, too, and hence are as a general rule not long-lived. > Think about the way forest succession works: fast growing trees fill in gaps > quickly, reproducing before the competition catches up; slow growing trees > are the shade tolerant ones, coming up underneath the fast growing pioneers > and eventually supplanting them. > > > From what I have read of carbon sequestration (as it is not my primary area > of knowledge), old-growth forests hold a lot of carbon, but do not take it up > quickly; the decomposition of old trees and the carbon uptake of growing > trees about cancel out, making the old-growth forest approximately > carbon-neutral. Young forests take up carbon quickly, but as they age, the > uptake rate slows down. When a tree decomposes, all the carbon sequestered > in its biomass is re-released. So to have effective sequestration, you would > have to have a steady supply of young trees taking up carbon, without a > concurrent stream of decomposing trees. Net growth would have to exceed net > decomposition. In other words, the only long-term way to counteract > ever-increasing CO2 emissions, is to have ever-increasing acreage of forest. > > Jason Hernandez > > > ________________________________ > > Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2012 11:59:02 -0800 > From: Stephen Johnson <[email protected]> > Subject: best tree species for carbon sequestration > > dear Ecolog-ers, > > I am designing a tree planting-planting project designed to counter CO2 > production at a college in south central Iowa. Students will be involved in > planting. I have heard that Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) and sweetgum > (Liquidambar styraciflua) are both good candidates for carbon sequestration > an I wonder if there is any primary literature that backs the claim. Also are > there any other tree species with high rates of carbon uptake and biomass > accumulation, fast growing and long-lived and with low maintenance and > perhaps with any or all of these properties reflected in any scientific > studies. > > Dr. Stephen R. Johnson > Freelance Plant Ecologist/Botanist > [email protected] -- Katie Rose Levin Duke University, Nicholas School of The Environment Masters of Environmental Management Candidate, 2012 Masters of Forestry Candidate, 2012 Environmental Professional, National and North Carolina Association of Environmental Professionals Wilderness First Responder, National Outdoors Leadership School The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. ~Nelson Henderson
