Trees are one of the pillars of life on earth. They capture and store carbon dioxide, produce oxygen for us to breath and they provide habitat for many of the world's plants and animals. 

Trees, forests and climate change

Forest are one of the world's vital carbon sinks. It is estimated that 2,016 gigatonnes of carbon are stored in the Earth's forests and vegetation.

Globally, emissions from deforestation and degradation, including from logging, account for at least 18% of greenhouse
gas emissions.  Logging forests releases very large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Droughts and ongoing reduction in rainfall in countries such as Australia and the United States are now suffering repeated massive fire events which are contributing to forest destruction and increased greenhouse gas emissions.

Protecting native forests is one of the quickest and easiest ways to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions, with the added benefits of protecting biodiversity and conserving water.

Mountain Ash in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. Photo: Peter Campbell

Links and references

• Flannery's plan: buy forests to help environment, Katharine Murphy, Canberra, The Age, January 30, 2008.
• Flying clouds the real climate culprit, Martin Wright, BBC NEWS, January 22, 2008
• 'Efficiency and forestry' key to cuts, Matthew Warren, The Australian, February 15, 2008
• Old-Growth Forests Can Accumulate Carbon in Soils, Guoyi Zhou et al., Science 1 December 2006