The growing forest

Publish date 05-06-2022

by Valentina Turinetto

The man who planted trees talks about a shepherd who in his simplicity manages to change a piece of his land: day after day he sows new plants and at the end of his life he leaves a forest to future generations . It is a romantic tale by Jean Giono that emphasizes the close bond that exists between man and nature.
Yet, we can see this story as the anticipation of an approach, technically called "afforestation", which is also gaining ground at an international level. There are not a few research institutions that carry out studies in this sector, as well as companies interested in applying this strategy to amortize carbon dioxide emissions.

There are several ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent global temperatures from rising further. One of these involves exploiting the ability of trees to absorb and store atmospheric CO2. In fact, trees not only have the ability to actively fix atmospheric CO2, like all plants, but also to store it for potentially very long times in their trunks, in the soil and, upon their death, in wood products.
To act responsibly it is important to consider and clarify some aspects of this process.
First of all, it is necessary to emphasize an aspect on timing: trees always absorb carbon dioxide, but the process increases significantly only when the tree is over twenty years old. If it is true that a tree can subtract over 100 kg of carbon dioxide in a year, surely we are talking about a tree at least 30 meters high and probably centenary. Therefore it is important that existing forests are aged before they are cut down and that as many trees are kept standing in cleared areas. In addition to age, the carbon fixation capacity varies greatly depending on the species, environmental conditions and soil fertility; these are all parameters to consider when choosing the areas on which to act.

Afforestation is different from deforestation: while deforestation involves replacing trees in a place where they were already present in the past, afforestation involves planting trees where there were none before. It is therefore important to consider that new plants do not harm ecosystems, biodiversity and the local landscape. Furthermore, when the soil is worked to prepare for the introduction of new plants, part of the carbon stored in the soil is released; it is therefore desirable to practice afforestation in areas with low biodiversity and low carbon deposits in the soil.
Therefore, only by acting on the environment in a responsible way and in favor of its global well-being, can we relax and watch the forests grow.


Valentina Turinetto
NP February 2022

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