Key takeaways: Trees and Climate Change
- Trees absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and store it as carbon in their biomass and surrounding soil.
- Global forests remove about 7.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide each year, roughly 30% of annual human emissions.
- Beyond carbon storage, trees improve air quality, regulate temperatures, reduce flooding, and support biodiversity.
- Healthy forests are a net carbon sink, but deforestation, wildfire, and degradation can release stored carbon back into the atmosphere.
- Reforestation is a powerful climate solution, but it should be undertaken alongside other actions, such as reducing global emissions and protecting existing forests.
The Relationship Between Trees and Carbon Dioxide
In recent years, trees have gotten a lot of attention as a top climate change solution. And while that remains true, for our collective climate efforts to succeed, reforestation needs to happen alongside other critical actions — such as reducing global emissions and protecting existing forests. That said, planting the right trees in the right place, at the right time, and for the right reasons, is a powerful Nature-based Climate Solution.
Trees play a critical role in regulating carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere. Through a process called biological carbon sequestration, trees absorb carbon dioxide and store it in their trunks, roots, and surrounding soil. Most people know they produce oxygen and absorb carbon from the atmosphere, but trees do so much more than that. Interested to learn more about the relationship between trees and the climate? Keep reading to find out!
For all of the climate benefits that trees provide, the relationship between trees and climate is more complex than you might think. Because trees store carbon in their biomass, they also release it when they die and decompose naturally, get cut down, when they burn an a forest fire, and more. They also naturally emit carbon during their life cycle — about half of what they absorb.
However, healthy forests remain a net carbon sink, meaning they absorb more carbon than they release over time. All of this underscores how critical it is to conserve existing forests, so they may live out their life span—not have it cut short by deforestation, natural disasters, changing climate conditions, and more. But while reforestation alone won't solve the climate crisis, it's still an important part of the solution.
Protecting existing forests and restoring degraded landscapes are both essential to maximizing the climate benefits of trees. Want to start helping the planet? Consider planting trees today!
