To advertise on this site. For a long time, the forests of Maine have provided a haven for wildlife, a recreational playground for people and raw logs for industry. Many scientists believe society should look for ways to encourage forest growth as a way to reduce the impact of global warming. Maine has about 17 million acres of forest, which absorbs roughly 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, according to the state's climate change task force. That's 11 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions produced here annually by cars, power plants and factories.
Studies show that young, growing trees store higher amounts of carbon than mature forests.
It's also clear that carbon sequestration drops when wood are cut for development, agriculture or other uses. So the best way to get maximum carbon storage might be to cut forests regularly to encourage the regeneration of young trees, and avoid the conversion of forest land for housing or other uses. Robert Seymour, a forestry professor at the University of Maine, says forests that store more carbon are also likely to be healthier especially if they contain many types of young trees. The task force says the Maine Forest Service should consider creating a program that encourages industrial forest landowners to plant trees and otherwise manage their land to increase carbon absorption. The program could be structured so that an industry that burns oil or coal could get credits to offset the resulting emissions by paying for forest planting or management.