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Dead trees keep surprisingly large amounts of carbon out of atmosphere

(phys.org)
91 points PaulHoule | 6 comments | 14 Apr 25 14:23 UTC | HN request time: 0.152s | source | bottom
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f4c39012 ◴[14 Apr 25 15:26 UTC] No.43682355[source]▶
my old boss had an idea - "bury trees".

There's a bit of nuance to be filled out, like challenges of forest plantation monoculture and so on, but it always sounded quite practical to me. Iirc the idea derived from "coal".

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1. parpfish ◴[14 Apr 25 15:29 UTC] No.43682386[source]▶
Why do you have to bury them? Can’t you just let the logs sit on the forest floor?
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2. triceratops ◴[14 Apr 25 15:31 UTC] No.43682415[source]▶
Decomposition returns carbon dioxide to the air. Or worse, methane, if there isn't enough oxygen.
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3. bryanlarsen ◴[14 Apr 25 15:31 UTC] No.43682416[source]▶
They release their carbon as they rot or otherwise consumed. That's why the article talks about wood in cold streams, which rots very slowly.
4. myfonj ◴[14 Apr 25 15:35 UTC] No.43682464[source]▶
In the long term they will decompose and return vast majority of its carbon back into atmosphere. Blame fungi and bacteria.
5. parpfish ◴[14 Apr 25 17:52 UTC] No.43684130[source]▶
Don’t things decompose underground as well?
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6. triceratops ◴[14 Apr 25 18:18 UTC] No.43684444{3}[source]▶
The carbon stays underground.