US forests will begin emitting more carbon than they store by 2070, USDA report warns

As refreshing as a stroll through the woods may seem, realise that you're walking through terrifying battlegrounds riddled with towering sticks of dynamite. There is no denying the contribution of our wooden allies conserving the planet, but the amount of carbon they sequester makes them a very effective and dangerous double-edged sword.

After all, tens to hundreds of years of sinking carbon makes you excruciatingly flammable, and it takes just a single unguarded match to release it all back into the atmosphere. Now, a new report has predicted that, very soon, the sword may begin swinging in our direction.

The US Department of Agriculture has found that by 2070, forests in the country will begin to release a ton more carbon than they actually store. This will equate to a sequestration reduction of about 150 million metric tons, similar to the setting up and running of 40 coal power plants constantly oozing dirty emissions into the air.

The reason for this shocking development lies in how we continue to stunt the natural growth and order of trees in our forests. In healthy forests, old trees periodically die and pave the way for new ones to sprout.

Studies have shown that younger trees are extremely adept at capturing carbon from the air, gobbling it up to add its own biomass. In comparison, older trees, despite hoarding the most amount of carbon in total, grow at a relative snail's pace.

The problem is that not enough younguns are being planted or given a proper chance to age, meaning already-mature forests are outpacing their younger counterparts. These elderly trees are more likely to be felled at the hands of lumbering or climate change-fuelled wildfires, droughts and storms.

Overall, this means that forests in the US are dying more than they grow, which will inadvertently re-emit all the decades of stored carbon back into the atmosphere.

Furthermore, vested industry interests continue to severely limit the area available for young forests to prosper. Even when it comes to privately-owned forests in the US, many owners do not follow the appropriate protection guidelines, leading to a long list of conservation issues.

"There are an estimated 9.6 million family forest ownerships across the country, and they control more forest land than any other ownership category (39%, excluding interior Alaska)," the report reads, "but most do not have a written forest management plan and have not received forest management advice."

Immediate steps must be taken to protect forests, not just in the US, but worldwide, to prevent ourselves from losing out on our closest allies. None of our net-zero targets can be met without prompt and effective work in this sector.

The findings of this USDA research can be accessed here.

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