Isn’t stored, or sequestered, carbon in forests eventually returned to the atmosphere?
Forest carbon is eventually returned to the atmosphere. The forest’s fibers, or biomass, eventually decays, is burned, or otherwise returns carbon gas into the air. Forest carbon storage can be extended as fibers are harvested for consumer goods such as building products, furniture, and other uses. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) generally divides terrestrial sequestration approaches into those that store carbon for a century or longer, such as forests, and those that cycle carbon over shorter periods, such as rangeland and other land uses.
