[Terrapreta] C02 Tree Capture - how much carbon dioxide do trees really capture?

[Sean K. Barry]

Hi Kevin,

You hit that one right on the head.  The important time factor (high duration, long persistence) of charcoal carbon storage in soil (TP style) puts it in "a class all by itself", when compared to the carbon storage duration in other living and decomposing bio-terrestrial carbon forms.

Regards,

SKB
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Kevin Chisholm<mailto:kchisholm at ca.inter.net> 
  To: Michael Bailes<mailto:michaelangelica at gmail.com> 
  Cc: Terrapreta<mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org> 
  Sent: Friday, December 14, 2007 7:08 AM
  Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] C02 Tree Capture - how much carbon dioxide do trees really capture?


  Dear Michael


  Michael Bailes wrote:
  > As far as I can see tropical forests do store CO2 and help global cooling.
  >
  > Despite a couple of promising research papers I don't thing the jury 
  > can yet decide about what happens in temperate forests.

  Isn't Time a major factor? Grass stores carbon. Trees store carbon. TP 
  stores carbon. Grass and trees tie up carbon for a short to intermediate 
  time, while TP is in a class all by itself. Most trees live in the order 
  of 100 to 500 years. Some are shorter lived ... say 20 years for pioneer 
  species.... and some are longer... say 3000 years for Bristlecone Pine. 
  However, Radiocarbon dating of charcoal goes back many thousands of 
  years, indicating that charcoal carbon can stay tied up for many 
  thousands of years.
  >
  > there are other issues involved not just CO2. trees exhale a lot of 
  > water  vapour (the major green house 'gas') and the level of this in 
  > the air is rising.

  Water vapor is a major greenhouse gas, but at the same time, clouds are 
  a major "sunscreen." Clouds are of major importance in Climate Models, 
  and most climate models are said to have difficulties with how they 
  handle the cloud effect.
  >
  > Then there is the albido effect.
  > Do all forests absorb or reflect light?
  > In Australia I would go for reflect.
  >
  > Then there are wildfires contribution to planetary Co2.
  > (Australian forests should be regularly burnt to manage them properly.)
  Wildfires simply release carbon that is already in the biosphere, and 
  there is no net addition of additional carbon to the Biosphere. Burning 
  Fossil Fuels increases the carbon load in teh Biosphere.
  >
  > Then there is the soil micro-organisms and what they are exhaling.

  This carbon is not a net addition to the Biosphere, in that a short time 
  earlier, it was taken from the Biosphere.
  >
  > The University of Western Sydney has started on a long term study of 
  > Australian tree growth trying to measure and control as many variables 
  > as possible.
  >
  > To produce char we have billions of tonnes of waste. erich knight 
  > quotes a figure somewhere.
  > After we burn that  maybe then we might start on the forests.:)?

  Char is indeed a positive way to remove carbon from the Biosphere for 
  1,000 to 10,000 years or longer.

  Best wishes,

  Kevin
  > I would hope by then solar panels on every roof would replace burning 
  > coal for electricity.
  > MA
  > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  >
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