Building future cities out of timber could save 100B tons of CO2 emissions

Re:Building future cities out of timber could save 100B tons... by s8s8discourse on Wednesday September 07, 2022 @08:27AM (#32749687)

Some trees can grow over a century. Some can't. Some trees growth top out by 50 years and then grow incredibly slowly (sequestering carbon at a much slower rate). Some grow for 300 years and sequester carbon at a constant rate. Which is why it's called woodland _management_.

"Having survived multiple forest fires" says a lot to me. Surviving a forest fire still invokes a huge release of otherwise captured carbon for no gain. Harvesting trees for timber means the bulk of the tree sequesters carbon into the structure, and the waste byproduct can be utilised to provide energy for the process.

With the correct tooling and processes, it's as close to carbon neutral as you can get.

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Re:Building future cities out of timber could save 100B tons... by jdhn on Wednesday September 07, 2022 @08:59AM (#32749958)

>Surviving a forest fire still invokes a huge release of otherwise captured carbon for no gain

The cycle of life for some trees involves forest fires, so I wouldn't write off forest fires as having "no gain".

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Re:Building future cities out of timber could save 100B tons... by Gravityloss on Wednesday September 07, 2022 @11:14AM (#32751731)

Sure. Willows grow fast and are short lived. Typically you don't make timber out of willow either, though you can use it in building, it's a different method (and might be great).

My examples were of typical local forests here, which are long and slow growth by majority.

I know there are a lot of people with vested interest in selling logging as CO2 negative, and I see the idea promoted all the time.

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