U Oregon says that old growth forests should count double in forestry accounting

sea-maid submitted, created time 3 months 3 weeks (www.sciencedaily.com)

Contrary to forty years of conventional wisdom, a new analysis suggests that old growth forests are usually "carbon sinks" -- they continue to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and mitigate climate change for centuries.

However, international treaties, such as the Kyoto Protocol, do not take the age of forests into account when considering forest preservation. Researchers from the University of Oregan have proposed that old growth forests should count more in carbon accounting.

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Is Smokey the Bear Worsening Global Warming?

sea-maid submitted, created time 5 months 1 week (sciencenow.sciencemag.org)

Scientists have long believed that preventing or dousing forest fires helps combat global warming by saving trees and thus allowing forests to take up more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But surprising new data on hundreds of California forest sites suggest the opposite. The work could help quantify the role of forests in the global carbon cycle and shape U.S. federal fire policy.

Small, natural fires thin out shrubs and small trees without killing larger trees. This allows the larger trees, which absorb the most carbon, to flourish without interference

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