Forests: A passive CO2 sink or an active CO2 pump?

Abstract

Forests are considered an important component on the road to climate neutrality. Together with technical and other nature-based solutions, they should help to compensate for unavoidable residual emissions. Forests are seen primarily as a carbon sink, removing CO2 from the atmosphere through biomass growth. The desire to increase the sink capacity of forests to achieve climate neutrality suggests the removal of C through timber harvesting. Without timber harvesting, wood-based products would have to be replaced by products based on other raw materials, which generally cause higher emissions during production. The goal of climate neutrality is thus jeopardized. Forests can make a much greater contribution to climate neutrality by harvesting their wood and supplying it to low-emission processing operations, and by sequestering the carbon contained in the biomass used in wood products over the long term.