Old-growth forests store a treasure trove of carbon

摘要

As climate change legislation plows its way through the U.S. Congress, one of the hot-button issues is how to award greenhouse gas offset credits for storing carbon in forests. Some timber industry advocates argue that cutting trees can lead to more sequestration of carbon than leaving forests unmanaged. But a growing body of research shows that old-growth forests are best left alone, since they store two to three times the carbon of typical managed forests.