Putting aside all the other reasons why trees are good for us and for
biodiversity, I feel we may be literally not seeing the woods for the trees.
A tree may perform as Terry says, individually locking up then releasing
its carbon. But it is not simply a discrete object, especially in a wood
or forest. Individual trees may come and go but a forest that is allowed
to renew itself, or managed for renewal, is a huge long-term lockup. As
Keith has pointed out, you can even cut them down and stack them into
landfill which is a lot more straightforward than inventing new
sequestration techniques and may even start to build up some fossil fuel
for a Neo-Texan renaissance in the impossibly distant future.
I don't know how much carbon you can sequester under the soil but it has
always impressed me greatly that the solid bulk of a tree trunk comes
mostly from the air. In the redwood forests of California you will see
astonishing volumes of material sticking out of small patches of ground,
even the relatively modest-sized trees in Britain have an impressive
bulk of stuff locked up inside each plant.
Of course, in the future, clever bio-engineers will design plants that
will grow automatically into air-conditioning units, car tyres,
furniture and garden sunshades, and trees will not be needed.
Best wishes from leafy Sheffield - With an estimated total of over two
million trees,^ Sheffield has more trees per person than any other city
in Europe. (These statistics come from Sheffield City Council via
Wikipedia so they must be true :o)
Chris
*********************
Professor Chris Rust
Head of Art and Design Research Centre
Sheffield Hallam University, S11 8UZ, UK
+44 114 225 2706
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www.chrisrust.net
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