How much carbon is released into the atmosphere through Canada’s harvesting?
Only a fraction of the carbon in harvested wood is actually emitted into the atmosphere (as carbon dioxide) upon harvest, or shortly thereafter. From1990 to 2005, harvesting in Canada’s managed forests resulted in an average of about 43 million tonnes of biomass carbon in branches, roots, and leaves being left in the forest each year and the transfer each year of about 41 million tonnes of biomass carbon from the forest ecosystem to the forest products sector. The emissions of carbon dioxide from harvesting are sometimes compared with those from cars and trucks, which in Canada, from 1990 to 2005, averaged about 115 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. However, the timing of the biomass carbon emissions is quite different than that of the car and truck emissions, which occur immediately. The biomass left in the forest decomposes slowly, while the biomass carbon that is transferred out of the forest (equivalent to about 150 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year) is emitted ov
