Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 April 2021
2517. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the approximate tonnage of CO2 sequestered per hectare of afforestation over its lifetime at 70% conifer and 30% broadleaf; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19675/21]
View answerCarbon sequestration by forests is influenced by a range of factors including species, soil type, site conditions and management practices. The rate of sequestration changes over time as a forest develops and matures. When forests are young the sequestration rate is low but as the trees mature their ability to sequester carbon dioxide as increases.
Earlier this year, Teagasc launched its new Forest Carbon Tool, which was developed with the support of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and developed by Teagasc with specialist input from FERS Ltd. This online tool is a user-friendly way to calculate how much carbon can be removed in woodlands and highlights the important role of harvested wood products. Further information can be found on Teagasc’s website.
If one hectare of land is afforested with 70% conifer and 30% broadleaf, a typical forest has the potential to remove 377 tonnes of carbon dioxide per rotation over the first and subsequent rotations, which is based on a mean annual sequestration rate of 6.9 tonnes of CO2 per hectare for the conifer species and 2.3 tonnes of CO2 per hectare for the broadleaf species.
