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They are? How? My perspective is: most of the mass of the three comes from the air, and trees are weighed in tonnes. When they die the carbon goes in the groun
by readerrrr 12y ago
They are? How?
My perspective is: most of the mass of the three comes from the air, and trees are weighed in tonnes. When they die the carbon goes in the ground( as long as they aren't burned ).
- DennisP 12y agoWhen they rot the carbon mostly goes back in the air.
- rthomas6 12y agoI was wrong in that old forests are net carbon emitters. They are still net carbon absorbers, but not as much as young forests. The reason for this is that trees also respirate, taking in O2 and emitting CO2, and this balances the CO2 absorption of photosynthesis. Old forests are still net carbon absorbers because trees have to repair themselves, and that matter still comes from the air. But intuitively, the amount of carbon absorption from maintenance vs. the amount from growing larger is much less for the former.