Roughly how much carbon does a tree absorb per year? A small tree? A large tree?

Question

I believe carbon amounts absorbed vary by tree size and size. I am trying to get a rough understanding of the scale of carbon absorbed, so rough/approximate numbers are great. Thanks!

Answer 1

Hey there,

You are correct in your assertion that trees "sink" carbon at varying rates...also note that because trees respire as well, not all trees are net carbon sinks...some forested areas (for instance, areas where there is a lot of decaying going on) are net carbon dioxide "producers".  Trees that are sinking carbon are those in an active growth stage.

I don't have any idea of exact numbers offhand, but here is a stat (not sure of its veracity) from "Trees for the Future":

"Each tree planted in the humid tropics absorbs 50 pounds (22 kg) of carbon dioxide every year for at least 40 years - each tree will absorb 1 ton of CO2 over its lifetime!"

Also check out Wikipedia for some more general information and some links to other good sources.