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How projects like Severn Treescapes can help slow down increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide

Last year, 2024, was the hottest (global average temperature) year on record and atmospheric carbon dioxide is now double that of pre-Industrial Revolution era levels as reported by the NOAA Global Monitoring Lab.

Recently BBC news reported that “Last year, fossil fuel emissions were at record highs, while the natural world struggled to absorb as much CO2 due to factors including wildfires and drought, so more accumulated in the atmosphere.” 

Last year, 2024, was the hottest (global average temperature) year on record and atmospheric carbon dioxide is now double that of pre-Industrial Revolution era levels as reported by the NOAA Global Monitoring Lab. We know that trees are one of the easiest natural ways to store carbon but tree growth and their ability to capture carbon is also impacted by the greater extremes of weather that we are seeing as the atmosphere warms.

New tree emerging from its protective collar, The National Forest, UK - Ben Hall/2020VISION

Both drought and flooding can reduce tree growth rate and therefore slow their carbon capture. Hotter drier weather results in more intense and extensive forest fires e.g., in California and southern Europe. In the UK, increased wind strength during storms, particularly while trees are in leaf has, in my local area, brought down at least eight trees of 150-200 years or more within a one-mile radius of my home in the last seven years (since the 2018 ‘Beast from the East’), and the 50–100 year tree age bracket to replace them is simply not there, in many cases because management of woodland or hedgerow tree replacement no longer occurs to ensure replacement tree generations establish.

Although wetter, drier and stormier conditions are occurring in the UK, the trend for tree productivity (a tree’s annual growth) has been increasing in northern Europe including the UK, while declining in southern Europe, meaning tree growth in northern Europe becomes increasingly important.

Trees lining a field

Credit: Paul Harris/2020VISION

This is why Severn Treescapes is such an important project: a beacon of hope and a long-term vision, to help landowners access funding to replace lost trees and incorporate more of them into farmland to secure the trees’ future and our own. They don’t need to replace productive areas but can be incorporated into hedgerows, corners, grazing systems or alley cropping agroforestry systems. Or, where space allows, new woodlands can be created.

Planting a mix of native tree species provides the greatest chance that some will find the changing climatic conditions suitable and thrive, capturing carbon, providing habitat for wildlife and creating shade and shelter for crops, livestock and people alike.

References

  1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c30dn5dn53jo 

  1. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide#:~:text=Based%20on%20the%20annual%20report,dioxide%20in%202023%20was%20421.08. 

  1. https://www.usgs.gov/news/large-old-trees-grow-fastest-storing-more-carbon#:~:text=Large%20Old%20Trees%20Grow%20Fastest%2C%20Storing%20More%20Carbon%20%7C%20U.S.%20Geological%20Survey 

  1. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-41077-6#:~:text=Most%20remarkable%20is%20the%20estimated,important%20for%20the%20overall%20balance. 

  1. https://forest-fire.emergency.copernicus.eu/applications/data-and-services 

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