What is “carbon sequestration”?
Carbon sequestration can be referred to as the provision of long-term storage of carbon in underground, the ocean or the terrestrial biosphere. This causes the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to decrease. In some instances, this is done by maintaining or enhancing natural processes, while in other cases, novel techniques are developed for carbon disposal.
Carbon sequestration is the process by which atmospheric carbon dioxide is absorbed by trees through photosynthesis and stored as carbon in biomass (trunks, branches, foliage, and roots) and soils. Carbon sequestration in forests and wood products helps offset fossil fuel emissions, one of the key drivers of human-induced climate change. For more information about forest carbon sequestration, visit our carbon page.
Carbon sequestration is an important natural process that helps to clean an important global warming pollutant (carbon dioxide) from the atmosphere. Through photosynthesis, plants take up carbon dioxide and “sequester” it in new plant material such as wood or roots. This carbon is not re-released into the atmosphere until the plant decomposes or is burned. Carbon sequestration helps to “offset” some of the carbon dioxide we put into the atmosphere each day from the burning of gasoline and other fossil fuels.
