CO2 UPTAKE: OLD OR YOUNG TREES
By Cieara West
The short answer: young trees
Yes, they are 25% better at absorbing CO2.
Refreshing one of our earliest lessons in botany:
Plants combine atmospheric CO2 and water from the soil with the help of sunlight to form sugar, which is stored within the plant tissues. This process is termed photosynthesis.
Reverting to the issue of young trees versus the old in soaking up the atmospheric CO2; planting of new saplings in huge numbers won’t make up for the damage already caused by deforestation and fossil fuel combustion.
Studies reveal that younger trees grow at a faster rate with increased CO2 levels in the
atmosphere (however this is not our hall pass at jet skiing carbon emissions).
The older trees, on the other hand, store greater quantities of carbon in proportion to their sizes as their larger canopies reach greater heights. They are now exposed to consistently more sunlight and thereby able to photosynthesize over a greater leaf-area, leading to a higher carbon content in their biomass (roots, stumps and branches).
The older and larger trees with greater stores of carbon are getting destroyed by prolonged draughts, fires, and infestations fueled by climate change .
A balanced system is now disrupted by the added human factor of increased CO2 emissions. Trees work overtime at harsher conditions than can be realistically expected for equalizing increased CO2 levels.
What Is Reforestation
Most sensible and obvious reparation step would be : planting more trees to make up the destroyed lot. Planting trees has the potential to preserve endangered species and shrubs that wildlife depend on. The most important side to planting trees is the shade trees provides. Planting near streams can lower water temperatures by ten degrees.
Our sponsor Boxed water is better has planted 1,000,000 trees in partnership with the National Forest Foundation (NFF) as a part of their ongoing commitment to support the planet and sustainability efforts with works to plant another million- creating a positive change to clean our atmosphere. Boxed water has been a partner with Ocean Blue for over 3 years and have removed over 30,000 pounds of microplastics from the Ocean.
In addition to reforestation, we must consider the ocean and its role as a huge carbon-captor, for the tons of CO2 trapped in its depths.
Whales absorb tons of carbon from the oceans to decompose over thousands of years. Maintaining the marine eco-diversity, therefore, directly impacts its ability to take on excess carbon. By cleaning waterways, recycling, and reducing carbon emissions we can do our part for a healthier planet.
