Plantation Forests are Great Carbon Sinks

Concerns over global warming leading to dramatic climate change have led to public pressure on both governments and businesses to reduce ‘greenhouse gases’.

Carbon dioxide is making the largest contribution to global warming and resulting climate change. The levels of CO2 (carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere are increasing due to man’s activities. Capturing carbon from the atmosphere has become a major focus of activity to mitigate the effects of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Both individuals and businesses are increasingly interested in investing in projects that will result in additional carbon sequestration.

Forests are highly effective at capturing carbon from the atmosphere. Forests, which represent major carbon sinks, have been decreasing in area around the world as a result of man's activity. Forests covered 80% of New Zealand before the arrival of Maori, and 50% when Europeans began their major immigration in 1840. Today, forests cover only 24% of New Zealand.

Unlike most economic activities, forestry provides a major source of carbon sequestration. The combination of photosynthesis and a tree's ability to lay down wood cellulose and lignin acts as a powerful concentrator of carbon from the atmosphere into a fixed form. A cubic metre of wood contains about 250 kg of carbon (250 000 grams), while a cubic metre of air contains about 0.117 grams of carbon. This means that a cubic metre of wood contains the same amount of carbon as 1.4 million cubic metres of air. A forest growing at the rate of 10 cubic meters of wood per hectare per year is absorbing the carbon from 14 million cubic meters of air (a column of air 1400 metres high over one hectare)*.