Gross Carbon Sequestration estimates how much new carbon a tree removes from the atmosphere in one year as it grows. This is an annual estimate, so it is reported in pounds per year.
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Climate change is an issue of global concern. Urban trees can help mitigate climate change by sequestering atmospheric carbon (from carbon dioxide) in tissue and by altering energy use in buildings, and consequently altering carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel-based power sources (Abdollahi et al 2000). Trees reduce atmospheric carbon by sequestering it in new growth each year. The amount of carbon sequestered annually increases with tree size and health.
Carbon storage is another way trees can influence global climate change. As a tree grows, it stores more carbon by accumulating it in its tissues. As a tree dies and decays, it releases much of the stored carbon back into the atmosphere. Thus, carbon storage indicates the amount of carbon that can be released if trees are allowed to die and decompose. Maintaining healthy trees helps store carbon, but tree maintenance can also contribute to carbon emissions (Nowak et al., 2002c). When a tree dies, using the wood in long-term wood products, for heating buildings, or to produce energy will help reduce carbon emissions from wood decomposition or from fossil-fuel- or wood-based power plants.
Ecosystem service estimates were generated using i-Tree Eco, a peer-reviewed urban forest assessment tool developed by the USDA Forest Service and partners. Learn more at i-Tree Eco.
