How do urban forests help to store and sequester carbon?
As trees grow they remove/sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere to use during photosynthetic processes. Trees store carbon in the woody tissue and release oxygen into the atmosphere. A growing tree sequesters carbon each year and stores it, keeping carbon out of the atmosphere. The amount of carbon sequestered and stored over time is a function of a tree’s size, condition, and lifespan. Young trees tend to sequester carbon at higher rates than older trees due to their greater vigor. Long-lived trees store carbon for a longer period of time than shorter-lived trees because when a tree dies most of the stored carbon is released back to the atmosphere as it decomposes. The time span for carbon storage can be extended if the wood from the tree is used to make a product (e.g. furniture).
