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    Calculating CO2 Sequestration by Trees

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    gahayford
    This document provides a step-by-step process for calculating the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered by a tree per year. It explains that trees in tropical climates on average sequester 50 pounds of CO2 per tree per year. The rate depends on tree species, growth conditions, and wood density, and is highest between 20-50 years of growth. The document then outlines the specific steps and calculations to determine a tree's total weight, dry weight, carbon content, CO2 sequestration, and annual CO2 sequestration rate based on its characteristics and age. It provides examples of calculations for different tree species ranging from 2.5 to 15 years old.

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    Calculating CO2 Sequestration by Trees

    Uploaded by

    gahayford
    656 views4 pages
    This document provides a step-by-step process for calculating the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered by a tree per year. It explains that trees in tropical climates on average sequester 50 pounds of CO2 per tree per year. The rate depends on tree species, growth conditions, and wood density, and is highest between 20-50 years of growth. The document then outlines the specific steps and calculations to determine a tree's total weight, dry weight, carbon content, CO2 sequestration, and annual CO2 sequestration rate based on its characteristics and age. It provides examples of calculations for different tree species ranging from 2.5 to 15 years old.

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    This document provides a step-by-step process for calculating the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered by a tree per year. It explains that trees in tropical climates on average sequester 50 pounds of CO2 per tree per year. The rate depends on tree species, growth conditions, and wood density, and is highest between 20-50 years of growth. The document then outlines the specific steps and calculations to determine a tree's total weight, dry weight, carbon content, CO2 sequestration, and annual CO2 sequestration rate based on its characteristics and age. It provides examples of calculations for different tree species ranging from 2.5 to 15 years old.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    656 views4 pages

    Calculating CO2 Sequestration by Trees

    Uploaded by

    gahayford
    This document provides a step-by-step process for calculating the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered by a tree per year. It explains that trees in tropical climates on average sequester 50 pounds of CO2 per tree per year. The rate depends on tree species, growth conditions, and wood density, and is highest between 20-50 years of growth. The document then outlines the specific steps and calculations to determine a tree's total weight, dry weight, carbon content, CO2 sequestration, and annual CO2 sequestration rate based on its characteristics and age. It provides examples of calculations for different tree species ranging from 2.5 to 15 years old.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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    You are on page 1of 4

    How to calculate the amount of CO2 sequestered in a tree per year

    We at Trees for the Future estimate that our agroforestry trees, planted in tropical
    climates, will sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide at an average of 50 pounds of carbon
    dioxide per tree per year.

    The rate of carbon sequestration depends on the growth characteristics of the tree species,
    the conditions for growth where the tree is planted, and the density of the tree's wood. It
    is greatest in the younger stages of tree growth, between 20 to 50 years.1 Further
    complicating the issue is the fact that far less research has been done on tropical tree
    species as compared to temperate tree species.

    Nevertheless, we can roughly estimate the amount of CO2 sequestered in a given tree,
    and if we divide by the tree’s age, get a yearly sequestration rate.

    We got this process from two educational websites who had conceived it as a learning
    activity for their students. 2 This is the process:

    1. Determine the total (green) weight of the tree.


    2. Determine the dry weight of the tree.
    3. Determine the weight of carbon in the tree.
    4. Determine the weight of carbon dioxide sequestered in the tree
    5. Determine the weight of CO2 sequestered in the tree per year

    Determine the total (green) weight of the tree

    Based on tree species in the Southeast United States, the algorithm to calculate the weight
    of a tree is: 3

    W = Above-ground weight of the tree in pounds


    D = Diameter of the trunk in inches
    H = Height of the tree in feet

    For trees with D < 11:


    W = 0.25D2H

    For trees with D >= 11:


    W = 0.15D2H

    Depending on the species, the coefficient (e.g. 0.25) could change, and the variables D2
    and H could be raised to exponents just above or below 1. However, these two equations
    could be seen as an “average” of all the species’ equations.

    The root system weighs about 20% as much as the above-ground weight of the tree.
    Therefore, to determine the total green weight of the tree, multiply the above-ground
    weight of the tree by 120%.
    Determine the dry weight of the tree

    This is based on an extension publication from the University of Nebraska.4 This


    publication has a table with average weights for one cord of wood for different temperate
    tree species. Taking all species in the table into account, the average tree is 72.5% dry
    matter and 27.5% moisture.

    Therefore, to determine the dry weight of the tree, multiply the weight of the tree by
    72.5%.

    Determine the weight of carbon in the tree

    The average carbon content is generally 50% of the tree’s total volume.5 Therefore, to
    determine the weight of carbon in the tree, multiply the dry weight of the tree by 50%.

    Determine the weight of carbon dioxide sequestered in the tree

    CO2 is composed of one molecule of Carbon and 2 molecules of Oxygen.

    The atomic weight of Carbon is 12.001115.

    The atomic weight of Oxygen is 15.9994.

    The weight of CO2 is C+2*O=43.999915.

    The ratio of CO2 to C is 43.999915/12.001115=3.6663.

    Therefore, to determine the weight of carbon dioxide sequestered in the tree, multiply the
    weight of carbon in the tree by 3.6663.6

    Determine the weight of CO2 sequestered in the tree per year

    Divide the weight of carbon dioxide sequestered in the tree by the age of the tree. Et
    voila!

    EXAMPLES

    Estimated growth rates and sizes of agroforestry trees were taken from the World
    Agroforestry Centre’s “Agroforestree Database”7:

    Let’s see how much a Calliandra calothyrsus might sequester in a year. A 10-year-old
    Calliandra would probably grow about 15 feet tall with a trunk about 8 inches in
    diameter. Therefore:

    W = 0.25D2H = 0.25(82)(15) = 240 lbs. green weight above ground.


    240 lbs. * 120% = 288 lbs. green weight (roots included)

    288 lbs. * 72.5% = 208.8 lbs. dry weight

    208.8 lbs. * 50% = 104.4 lbs. carbon

    104.4 lbs * 3.6663 = 382.8 lbs. CO2 sequestered

    382.8 lbs / 10 years = 38.3 lbs. CO2 sequestered per year

    Or consider a 10-year-old Grevillia robusta, 45 feet tall with a trunk 6 inches in diameter.
    Using the same calculations as above, the amount of CO2 sequestered would be 64.6 lbs.
    per year.

    Or a newly-planted Acacia angustissima, 2.5 years old, 15 feet tall with a trunk 3 inches
    in diameter: 21.5 lbs. of CO2 sequestered per year.

    Or an Albizzia lebbek, 15 years old, 30 feet tall, with a 12 inch trunk: 68.9 lbs. of CO2
    sequestered per year.

    Other methods

    Another way to estimate the amount of CO2 sequestered by a tree in a year is to estimate
    the amount sequestered in a hectare per year, and divide that amount by the number of
    trees per hectare. Scanning around on the Internet, it seems that the number of trees per
    hectare (in agroforestry and/or industrial plantations) ranges from under 500 to over
    2,000.

    According to Myers and Goreau, tropical tree plantations of pine and eucalyptus can
    sequester an average of 10 tons of carbon per hectare per year. 8 Therefore, the
    plantation can sequester an average of 20,000 lbs * 3.6663 = 73,326 lbs CO2/ha/year, or,
    taking an average of 1,000 trees per hectare, 73.326 lbs CO2/tree/year.

    Of course, we heavily discourage the planting of pine and/or eucalyptus in our


    agroforestry systems. Our trees may not grow as fast or as straight as eucalyptus, but
    they are not invasive, and they do not destroy the water table and the soil!

    Disclaimer

    This research and methodology is based on research papers, university publications, and
    other information freely available on the Internet. As we stated before, it is difficult to
    calculate the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered per tree per year due to the
    complexity of the variables involved, as well as the lack of research on tropical tree
    species. If you have any information that could further refine or enhance our
    calculations, please let us know at info@treesftf.org. Thanks and happy tree planting!
    1
    http://www.rcfa-cfan.org/english/issues.13.html
    2
    The National Computational Science Leadership Program
    http://www.ncsec.org/cadre2/team18_2/students/purpose.html and
    The Shodor Education Foundation
    http://www.shodor.org/succeedhi/succeedhi/weightree/teacher/activities.html
    3
    “Total-Tree Weight, Stem Weight, and Volume Tables for Hardwood Species in the Southeast,”
    Alexander Clark III, Joseph R. Saucier, and W. Henry McNab, Research Division, Georgia Forestry
    Commission, January 1986.
    http://www.forestdisturbance.net/publications/GF%20RP60-Clark.pdf
    4
    “Heating With Wood: Producing, Harvesting and Processing Firewood,” Scott DeWald, Scott Josiah, and
    Becky Erdkamp, University of Nebraska – Lincoln Extension, Institute of Agriculture and Natural
    Resources, March 2005.
    http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1554/build/g1554.pdf
    5
    “Carbon Storage and Accumulation in United States Forest Ecosystems, General Technical Report W0-
    59,” Richard A. Birdsey, United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Northeastern Forest
    Experiment Station, Radnor, PA, August 1992.
    http://www.ilea.org/birdsey/fcarbon_index.html#toc
    6
    http://www.ncsec.org/cadre2/team18_2/students/helpCalcCO2.htm
    7
    http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/Sites/TreeDBS/aft.asp
    8
    “Tropical Forests and the Greenhouse Effect: A Management Response,” Norman Myers and Thomas J.
    Goreau, Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, University of the West Indies, Discovery Bay, Jamaica, 1991.
    http://www.ciesin.columbia.edu/docs/002-163/002-163.html

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