Advice Climate change and trees question

[cdw]

It has been argued that cutting old growth forest, and replacing them with plantations of young trees would help prevent the threat of global green house warming. What important fact does this ignore?

[August]

Biodiversity loss.

[* star *]

Old forests contain more than trees, they are home to as yet undiscovered fungi, etc., that scientists are discovering have healing qualities the same or better than current drugs on the market.

[cdw]

Thank you both for your opinions

[Windguy]

Originally Posted by cdw

Thank you both for your opinions

Hey, threads last forever. Don't close the book yet. I don't see how new trees can help prevent global warming better if you need to cut down forests to do it. If you cut down an old tree, it rots away and then the carbon is released as CO2. So we have essentially reversed the beneficial effects. You can bury organic material though which will prevent that, but it would be one of the most inefficient methods of offsetting carbon emissions.

If you plant more trees though, you increase evapotranspiration which in turn lowers the planets temperature. I won't explain how just yet because I'm going to bed.

[Solidus]

Originally Posted by cdw

It has been argued that cutting old growth forest, and replacing them with plantations of young trees would help prevent the threat of global green house warming. What important fact does this ignore?

Apart from other have already said, I think cutting down closed-canopy forests disrupts natural regulation of the region's climate. I'm pretty sure I saw that on TV somewhere.

[Windguy]

Yes certainly. I will try to provide a link....

NASA - Tropical Deforestation Affects Rainfall in the U.S. and Around the Globe

It is a new area of study, but here is my attempt at explaining what is going on since there is not much information about it.

A Bigger contributor to GW than Carbon Dioxide.

[ramboslambos]

Originally Posted by Windguy

Yes certainly. I will try to provide a link....

first link