Is the carbon footprint of burning wood , zero.?

Question

Emissions

Answer 1

A forest, any forest, sequesters CO2 for the lifetime of the trees and the lifetime of the wood, be it lumber or furniture, which my be a hundred years. Slow growth means that we get longer sequestration. Faster growth means we get earlier sequestration.

So burning wood undoes that sequestration immediately. The net effect is always a short term increase in atmospheric CO2.

Allowing branches and twigs, leaves to decompose on the forest floor does provide the trees with nutrients so that the trees can continue to absorb CO2, while burning those materials releasing the same CO2 does not promote tree growth, CO2 absorption, unless we can get the plant nutrients returned to the  soil of the forest.

Burning wood in a pyrolitic system will leave carbon in charcoal, in sequestration. This allows both carbon and plant nutrients to continue to support plant (tree) growth for about 60 years.

I burn tree limbs that fall and return the ash to the forest floor. What I lose is nitrogen fertilizer.

Other than by supplementing with nitrogen fertilizer, manure  or grass clippings we are left with slower growing forests.

Answer 2

Maybe if the trees do not emit methane.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2006/j...

Answer 3

Yes if you replant a tree where you cut them down.

Answer 4

Depends on how it is cut (bow saw and ax or chain saw and skidder) and how far it has to be hauled to your fireplace.

Answer 5

NO ,E=MC squared ????? (barbecues are worse)no.better off using gas and leccy,wood gives off more pollution when burnt,if the tree was still there in the first place it would be better,trees and most plants suck up the co2 and convert it into oxygen,more trees and plants!!!

methane is a bad one,by product of all life i think,global warming is natural,we are going through a phase, it will escalate to the next ice age (not just yet )

Answer 6

No because when you burn the wood you release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and add to the over all carbon foot print.  This is also true of wood that is consumed by termites and/or decays.  Wood should be hand cut into small pieces and wrapped up in those plastic shopping bags and buried to sequester the CO2.

Answer 7

Hello

Yes. Carbon is immediately mixed with Air.

But burning wood is not good for us. We have preserve Tress.

We have to Tree Plantation daily.

[e-mail]

s.s.subbu

Answer 8

Depends on the wood you are burning, willow/hazel are carbon neutral, but oak isn't.

Fast growing trees used in coppice are all carbon neutral non of the hardwoods meet that criteria as what comes down has to be regrown and they are slow.

Answer 9

Only is the wood is from sustainable forests.