Definitive measurement of CO2 sequestration in trees?

Question

Hi. I've tried to find the definitive average figure of the amount of CO2 sequestered by trees, however it seems impossible to find a reliable figure as the variables involved mean I keep getting different answers.

It all depends on the type of tree, where it grows, how healthy it is, how old it is, etc, ect. Therefore does anyone know of any formula or definitive answer that will actually tell me how much CO2 a healthy broadleaf tree in the UK (for example) will absorb from sapling to maturity (let's say 50 years) and each year thereafter??

PLEASE don't be random - I really do need to have a proper scientific answer to this Q for research I'm doing for my charity to challenge the carbon offsetting industry.

Thank you very much.

JOE U & others - You can't "spread truth" unless you know the FACTS and that's the whole con about the carbon offsetting industry and CO2 agenda THEY HAVE NO SOLID FACTS, but they have a very pushy MORAL agenda and the ONLY way to open the eyes of the people who swallow it is by convincing them of the REAL FACTS behind these issues (even if it's just to show that what they claim is totally invalid) and this can only be done by researching/studying real scientific evidence to counter their claims.

Answer 1

This is the entire problem with the whole Global Warming debate - people want "easy answers," "definitive formulas," etc.

Of course you keep getting different answers - nobody knows for sure what the weather is going to be for the next 50 years. Trees sequester more carbon in a carbon-dioxide rich atmosphere (oops!), grow better when it rains the right amount, and get the right mix of sun and cloud cover.

What you are looking for does not currently exist - and I wouldn't trust it if it did.

Answer 2

That will take the effort to measure CO2 sequestration in hundreds if not thousands of each specie of broadleaf tree at several stages of life. IOW, a representative sample.
Then you correlate the data and develop the formula that you are requesting.
I think that this anti-carbon industry is too new and to politically 'hot' for such _real_ research to have been done.

I think that you would do more good in spreading truth about the carbon scam than in engaging in a long-term data logging project.

Answer 3

Carbon sequestration rates vary by tree species, soil type, regional climate, topography and management practice. In the U.S., fairly well-established values for carbon sequestration rates are available for most tree species. Soil carbon sequestration rates vary by soil type and cropping practice and are less well documented but information and research in this area is growing rapidly.

Pine plantations in the Southeast can accumulate almost 100 metric tons of carbon per acre after 90 years, or roughly one metric ton of carbon per acre per year (Birdsey 1996). Changes in forest management (e.g., lengthening the harvest-regeneration cycle) generally result in less carbon sequestration on a per acre basis. Changes in cropping practices, such as from conventional to conservation tillage, have been shown to sequester about 0.1 – 0.3 metric tons of carbon per acre per year (Lal et al. 1999; West and Post 2002). However, a more comprehensive picture of the climate effects of these practices needs to also consider possible nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) emissions.

Answer 4

Trees do take in CO2 and very quick returns the O2 and keeps the C to make there food from.