When planting trees in a plantation to offset CO2 emissions, what should the spacing be for fastest C storage?

Question

I've done a carbon footprint, and calculated how many trees that I should plant...so I was wondering what the spacing should be when I plant them so I can have the most carbon storage per acre while minimising tree death. Any thoughts would be great!

Answer 1

I would look at a natural forest where the tree you are planting is dominant, and estimate the spacing from what you see.

Answer 2

How big is your imaginary footprint supposed to be???  Plant two or three trees in your yard and congratulate yourself for single-handedly saving the planet.

Answer 3

Regardless of planting density a given area of land will produce the same basal area. (Basal area is the area of the cross section of a trunk at 4.5 feet)  It is pretty amazing.  If you plant trees on a 1ft. x 1 ft. spacing or a 10 ft x 10 ft spacing the basal area would be equal.

If you want to minimize death I would call upon your local state foresters to help you with that.  They will determine your site index and other soil variables, that will help determine the dexired tree species and it spacing.  If you can't do that I would use a spacing that is equal to the expected crown diameter at maturity.

Answer 4

it would be whatever spacing the particular trees grow best at. the problem with planting trees to offset your CO2 is that you need to keep the trees alive otherwise the CO2 goes right back into the atmosphere.