> On 22 mar, 18:31, Islander wrote:
>
>
>> Connie's questions are good ones because they suggest at
>> least a partial solution. Deforestation is certainly a
>> contributing factor to the earth's ability to compensate
>> for the increase in CO2 as well as having other negative
>> effects.
>
> The numbers I found indicated that without deforestation one
> would still have an increase in CO2 due to fosil fuel
> burning. But the increase
> might be cut in half, like from 1.5 ppm per year to 1 or a
> little less.
>
> Often one talks about the Amazon and the rain forest being
> the "lungs of the world" but from the numbers I have seen
> the boreal forests of the northern Hemisphere are more
> important. Anybody who really knows can come in and correct
> me. The boreals are destroyed in the depth of the ice ages
> but then at the same time the temperatures
> are low and the ocean has sucked up the CO2 producing very
> low values. But on a short time basis (now) during the warm
> periods the boreals are important.
>
> What we do know that now, excess CO2 is accumulating
> in the atmosphere besides the boreals being around, the
> forests and the ocean photosynthesis is not sufficient
> to stop the increase we are provoking, much less reduce
> it. We are grasping for straws thinking that this boat
> will automatically aright iteself. But if man created the
> problem we should be able to turn it around. Will we is the
> question?
>
>

The issue of climax forests being essential for CO2 removal is another of those ecomyths that have no basis in reality.

A mature forest will have zero net CO2 consumption. Photsynthesis removal is balanced by the decomposition of forest waste. No new trees are being produced. For a tree to grow you have to remove an old tree which then is subject to decay.

The best CO2 removal using trees is in the cheap woodpulp industry. A tree is grown rapidly within 5 years, cut down (and a replacement planted), and converted to paper. The paper is then thrown away, and disappears into the landfill.

The landfills do not allow decay. GarbageArcheologists in Phoenix searched the dumps and could read newspapers over 50 years old.