Photosynthesis and carbon dioxide help??

Question

i think i know that trees take out carbon dioxide (that is causing global warming).. well regaurdless, when a tree takes in the carbon dioxide, does it take the carbon dioxide from the air and leave it out? and if so, would more trees help reduce carbon dioxide in the air.. and which type of trees and or plants (bushes, shrubs, etc) take out the most carbon dioxide?

Answer 1

Trees do take carbon dioxide from the air and store it as wood.  This can help to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide accumulating in the atmosphere.  Currently tropical and temperate forests are acting as a carbon sink (meaning they store more carbon than they release).  The trees that will absorb the most carbon, and store it for the longest amount of time, are old growth species.  These are species like maples, hemlocks, and some evergreen trees that are allowed to grow to their full potential (300+ years).  However, deforestation is reducing the capacity for forests to store carbon.  

Astonishingly, soil is a huge carbon sink.  So, grassland and prairie restoration may be a huge potential carbon sink, especially since they grow well on marginal agricultural lands.  Perennial grasses (like big blue stem, switchgrass, or Indian grass) put a lot of growth into their roots.  The carbon they store in the roots dies underground and is relatively safe from decomposers.  So the carbon can be stored in the soil for a very long period of time.

Answer 2

plants make sugar, eg  6  CO2 + 6 H2O = C6H12O6 + 6 O2.

what you want is for a plant / tree / kelp to tie up the carbon for a very long time.

so you want a tree that lives hundreds of years.

or some water plant that will sink to the bottom of the ocean when it dies.

the problem is that you can't grow a tree in the middle of the Sahara.

seems that trees grow pretty nice where we can grow our food.

what's worse, in many places, we're paving over that nice farm land.