sometimes I wonder if a massive worldwide tree planting initiative wouldn't be a better way to capture CO2

I am no expert on this but I wonder does this only give you a one-time gain (until the new sustainable level of wood/timber/lumber on the earth is reached)?

At some point the tree will either die or be felled so what happens after that:
- will the tree be converted to lumber and remain forever in that state? Some portion of it perhaps for a long time but unlikely to be forever.
- will it ultimately be burned releasing all of the carbon again as CO2?
- or will it decay releasing much of the carbon as CO2 or CH4 with some small proportion settling to become a new sedimentary layer that will ultimately form new buried hydrocarbon.

I suppose my main point is that there is probably some carbon capture benefit for trees over other plant species but I think the benefits are often [grossly??] overstated.

StevnFool

Berkshire Hathaway FAQ

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