How to actually reduce your carbon footprint 8: Reforestation and carbon sequestration in vegetation

Trees Are Really Very Nice. We Should Have More Of Them Around.

Back in January, I posted 10 ways to actually reduce your carbon footprint. My ongoing reading is starting to indicate that these were more clever than not.

Disclaimer: I am a gardener and I really like trees. In terms of carbon sequestration, I truly don't understand why anyone would want to try to pump it into old natural gas mines when there are perfectly lovely, renewable, growing forests to be planted.

I have just developed a crush on the work of the STRI, and Allan Savory,

STRI have been trying to measure how trees and forests will respond to higher-CO2 atmospheres, how to measure sequestered CO2 in a forest on a micro and macro scale, how to maximise CO2 sequestration in replacement forests, different species in different types of forests, and other fabulously important primary research.

My other favourite at the moment is Alan Savory, seen here on a TED talk.  His thing is reversing desertification of marginal grasslands by changing domesticated ruminant grazing habits to be more like large herds of wildebeest (or some equiv.). Looked at from a 20th century ag science perspective, his ideas seemed like a pile of cow dung, and were treated as such. But this century, pieces of a story have started to emerge that have made him seem revolutionary. Combined with research that says the biggest opportunity for sequestering carbon is apparently in the first 1m of soil, reversal of desertification suddenly seems much more important than reforestation. Also, research is proposing that the deserts started when early humans made megafauna extinct, because large migrating herds of megafauna were the most fabulous conduits of nutrient into marginal land. When they died, it all gradually turned to desert.

I am also a big fan of urban green space. Now these guys are mostly town planners, not climate scientists. But the story goes that the closer you live to an urban green area, the higher your house value, the better your mental and respiratory health. Urban forests are a very promising idea.
So here are simplistic instructions for self-offsetting your own CO2 output:

• Go find a fast growing, high-density tree species appropriate to your area that is not particularly vulnerable to increased atmospheric CO2 concentration (it's not a simple issue, according to Google Scholar). Rainforest species vary enormously. Certain Eucalypts are pretty good. Big deciduous trees are okay too. There's no point in dwarf rootstock. You want it to grow big, heavy, fast, catch that carbon!
• Plant 3 in your garden per year and let each one grow for 30 years (assumed roughly 3 tonnes per tree). 
• When you chop it down, turn it into timber. Mulch the leaves, In particular, DO NOT burn it in your - or your neighbours' - open fire.
• Live a 10-ton-per-year carbon lifestyle and your trees will sequester it for you.

So two more simplistic instructions for actually reducing your carbon footprint:

• Spread the word on Alan Savory and holistic land management. If your husband's family happens to own, say, a large sheep farm, show them the Ted lecture. If you know someone who works in the planning department of a rural, desert-prone county, ask some of the locals if they'd be prepared to try a holistic management grazing plan.
• Push your organisation to get carbon neutral. It may involve paying a consultant to work out how many trees you need to have planted per year. 
• Have land? Would you like to be a spot where offset trees get planted? You may be able to sell the CO2 credits. 
• All the rest of us urbanites can heckle their local government for urban vegetation planning, urban reforestation. Get your friends and rellies on the job too. I've got my own grandparents insisting on replacement of verge trees cut down for a new footpath, at the ratio of 2 new trees for 1 removed tree. they don't have 3 kids and they do have the time). Im working with my parents in law to campaign for more trees in the local recreational parks. With enough persistent pressure, local governments do listen. Remember, it's an immediate physical and mental health mitigator, as well as a way to help the future of the planet.