Ecologist Thomas Crowther’s research inspired countless tree-planting campaigns, greenwashing, and attacks from scientists. Now he’s back with a new plan for nature restoration.
In theory you can sink carbon rapidly by converting less carbon-sink-y land to forest and getting a bunch of carbon absorbed into new plants before it eventually reaches a new, lower-atmospheric-C steady state where some carbon is being drawn into long-term carbon sinks like humates and the rest is turning over. But the math on that is really iffy and requires actually establishing a forest rather than putting in a bunch of seedlings that will be mostly dead in 3-5 years.
In theory you can sink carbon rapidly by converting less carbon-sink-y land to forest and getting a bunch of carbon absorbed into new plants before it eventually reaches a new, lower-atmospheric-C steady state where some carbon is being drawn into long-term carbon sinks like humates and the rest is turning over. But the math on that is really iffy and requires actually establishing a forest rather than putting in a bunch of seedlings that will be mostly dead in 3-5 years.