Title:
To Plant or to Preserve: Comparing the Carbon-Capture Potential of Planting New Trees Versus Preserving Existing Forest
Author(s):
Ava Tomkins
Author Email:
atomkins@unca.edu
Department:
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
Faculty Mentor(s):
Dee Eggers
Abstract / Summary:
As climate change has heightened in recent years, awareness and action to reduce global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have increasingly focused on planting trees for their ability to sequester and store carbon over time. Notable tree-planting efforts include the One Trillion Trees campaign and Coldplay’s world-tour partnership with One Tree Planted where one ticket purchased equals one tree planted. This research examines tree-planting initiatives through a critical lens, seeking to determine if planting trees is an effective method to offset CO2 emissions when compared to preserving existing forests. For local application, 26 acres of mature oak-hickory forest in the US Forest Service Southside Project logging project in the Nantahala National Forest were analyzed. Tree density of this area was estimated using available LiDAR data and age classes were obtained from USFS data. i-Tree Eco data was used to model current carbon storage and sequestration data of the forest and then to forecast its carbon data into 2050. Subsequently, the growth of a newly planted 26-acre forest with the same oak-hickory forest species was modeled and similarly forecasted into 2050. Through comparison, it was revealed that the existing forest has greater potential to store and sequester carbon now and into 2050. This research highlights the importance of preserving existing forests for the continued mitigation of current and future CO2 emissions.
Publication Date:
May-14-2024
Documents: