HomeMy WebLinkAbout110422 FW_ Article_ Large old trees grow fastest storing more carbon
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From: Cyndy Bratz
Sent: Friday, November 4, 2022 2:39:02 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)
To: Heidi Eisenhour; Greg Brotherton; Kate Dean
Subject: Article: Large old trees grow fastest storing more carbon
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Greetings Commissioners,
I have heard differing opinions relating to the question, “Which is better at sequestering carbon, young forests or old forests?” Here is a relevant article from:
https://www.usgs.gov/news/large-old-trees-grow-fastest-storing-more-carbon
Large old trees grow fastest storing more carbon
By Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) <https://www.usgs.gov/centers/werc> January 15, 2014
Trees do not slow in their growth rate as they get older and larger — instead, their growth keeps accelerating, according to a study published in the journal Nature.
"This finding contradicts the usual assumption that tree growth eventually declines as trees get older and bigger," says Nate Stephenson <https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/nathan-stephenson>
, the study's lead author and a forest ecologist with the USGS Western Ecological Research Center. "It also means that big, old trees are better at absorbing carbon from the atmosphere
than has been commonly assumed."
"Old trees, after all, can die and lose carbon back into the atmosphere as they decompose," says Adrian Das <https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/adrian-das?qt-staff_profile_science_products=3#qt-staf
f_profile_science_products> , a USGS coauthor. "But our findings do suggest that while they are alive, large old trees play a disproportionately important role within a forest’s carbon
dynamics.”
Here is the reference to the original article, published in the journal Nature:
Rate of tree carbon accumulation increases continuously with tree size
Nature
By: N.L. Stephenson, A.J. Das, R. Condit, S.E. Russo, P.J. Baker, N.G. Beckman, D.A. Coomes, E.R. Lines, W.K. Morris, N. Rüger, E. Álvarez, C. Blundo, S. Bunyavejchewin, G. Chuyong,
S.J. Davies, Á. Duque, C.N. Ewango, O. Flores, J.F. Franklin, H.R. Grau, Z. Hao, M.E. Harmon, S.P. Hubbell, D. Kenfack, Y. Lin, J.-R. Makana, A. Malizia, L.R. Malizia, R.J. Pabst, N.
Pongpattananurak, S.-H. Su, I-F. Sun, S. Tan, D. Thomas, P. J. van Mantgem, X. Wang, S.K. Wiser, and M.A. Zavala
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12914 <https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12914>
Hope this is helpful. Have a good weekend,
- Cyndy Bratz
(emailing as a Jefferson County resident and concerned citizen)