COLUMBIA, Missouri – A new report from the University of Missouri’s School of Natural Resources describes the critical role forests play in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in plant material.
Prepared for the Missouri Forest Products Association with funding from the Missouri Department of Economic Development, “Carbon and Biomass Dynamics in Missouri’s Forests and Climate Change Implications” examines the role of forests in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which has increased over the past century due to the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas.
The report examines the carbon cycle in Missouri’s forests and proposes considering trees and forest products as units of carbon, rather than just in the traditional units of board feet and cubic feet.
“Trees are genetically programmed to capture and store carbon,” said Hank Stelzer, a University of Missouri Extension forestry expert and co-author of the report, in a press release. “They take in CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it through photosynthesis into carbon-based molecules that form wood or other tree tissue.”
The report found that wood products can play an important role in long-term carbon storage. Benefits include transporting carbon stored in trees out of the forest into products such as flooring and lumber, while also making room in the forest for more trees to grow and store more carbon.
In addition, the carbon stored in wood products saves fossil fuels that would be needed to produce alternative products such as cement, plastic and steel, which often require more energy to produce.
The report highlights sustainable forestry as an example of a natural climate solution that uses ecological processes to capture and store carbon. Examples of these management practices include planting trees, thinning forest stands to maintain high carbon sequestration rates, and harvesting mature stands to prevent dead and decaying trees from releasing their carbon back into the atmosphere.
“Actively managing forest resources using sustainable practices provides a variety of benefits beyond carbon and wood products,” said co-author Ben Knapp, an associate professor in the MU School of Natural Resources. Improved wildlife habitat, increased biodiversity and improved resilience to disturbance or climate change are just a few examples Knapp cited.
The report concludes by identifying practices that can increase carbon sequestration in forests and offset carbon dioxide emissions. The authors point out that humans have the final say on whether these practices are implemented.
“We have options to either support or hinder this process,” said Stelzer.
The report is available for free download at https://mizzou.us/Carbon-Climate-Report-24.
