A coalition of over 70 environmental groups in the United States called on President Biden to protect old-growth trees on federal lands from logging as a means of fighting climate change.
While trees absorb carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas that causes global warming, older trees store more carbon than new ones because they are larger.
According to reports, the campaign seeks to persuade the U.S. Forest Service, a division of the Department of Agriculture that manages around 20 per cent of forest land in the United States, to identify areas of mature trees and to protect them, specifically.
According to estimates by experts, the territory of the United States is said to have has lost as much as 95 per cent of its forests that have never been logged, since European colonization.
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While some specific areas have since been protected, there is yet no blanket rule prohibiting logging of old-growth trees on Forest Service land.
The director of People and Nature Policy at the Sierra Club, Kirin Kennedy was quoted as saying that the Forest Service has indicated they are rolling around this idea of how to address climate through the Forest Service, and they’re looking at an administrative rulemaking to do that.
“We’re simply saying: If you’re going to do some rulemaking around climate, that one avenue is to look at old-growth trees and mature trees,” he said.
An estimated 30 per cent of the carbon is released when a tree is chopped down, in part because removing the roots releases carbon from the soil, although cutting down a tree and using it for lumber does not release as much carbon as burning it.
Environmental activists also say that older forests provide more shade, creating cooler temperatures, which makes them less susceptible to wildfires. This is even asUndisturbed microclimates such as old-growth forests also support greater biodiversity.
Story was adapted from Yahoo News.
