25 Feb 09
Originally posted by D Ma GTrees absorb more CO2 than they produce all the while they are growing because they are locking away carbon out of the atmosphere when they produce new wood.
Although plants produce oxygen during photosynthesis (the process by which plants make food from sunlight), they also respirate just as humans do, and thus produce carbon dioxide.
So why is cutting down trees, etc such a big deal???😕😕
When you cut down a tree, whether that wood eventually burns or rots after use etc, all that carbon that is trapped in that wood eventually gets released back into the atmosphere in the form of CO2.
25 Feb 09
Originally posted by Andrew Hamiltonexactly, so in the long term, it releases more CO2 than 02
Trees absorb more CO2 than they produce all the while they are growing because they are locking away carbon out of the atmosphere when they produce new wood.
When you cut down a tree, whether that wood eventually burns or rots after use etc, all that carbon that is trapped in that wood eventually gets released back into the atmosphere in the form of CO2.
26 Feb 09
Originally posted by D Ma GWhat do you mean by it releases “more” CO2 than O2 in the long run?
exactly, so in the long term, it releases more CO2 than 02
Logically, it would make no difference to CO2 levels in the atmosphere in the VERY long run if it wasn’t for the fact that some trees will get converted into fossil fuels.
And what about the “shorter run“? -I mean, most of the carbon released into the atmosphere as a result of cutting down some trees would almost certainly be still in the atmosphere 100 years later and could therefore contribute significantly to global warming over that period -I don’t think that “short run” increase in CO2 can be simply ignored just because it is in the “short run” for it would still effect human life.