Carbon: The Environment and the Timber Industry

A Renewable Resource

As a staff trainer, particularly with our younger staff, I always point out that the timber products we sell come from trees and require food and moisture to survive.

We must also recognise that trees are vital to the overall health of the planet. As a tree grows, it absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while producing carbohydrates and oxygen, a process called photosynthesis or sequestration of wood.  

The relative levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen have a significant effect on life on Earth. This is the basis for concern about the rapid increase in atmospheric pollution driven by the scale of current industrial activity and greenhouse gas production.

Timber earns its billing as a carbon sink the moment a growing tree pulls carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locks it into the wood. As it grows, it continues to absorb more carbon; it is also present even in the timber products we use in the construction/ manufacturing processes.

However, it loses that carbon when burnt or decays due to termites, wood-boring insects and fungal decay. It will then reverse the sequestration process, releasing carbon back into the atmosphere.

Interestingly, from the information available, I have been reliably informed that the common Eucalypts we have been using, at about 90 to 100 years of age, start dropping leaves and branches and can become carbon neutral or even carbon negative. This compares with a tree in its formative growth, which is very aggressive and absorbs a lot of carbon.  

The harvesting of trees can be a very emotive subject. For instance, here in Victoria all logging of Eucalypts has been banned, unless sourced from private property.

 We believe this is a mistake for the following reasons:

• All old growth forests were already locked up, so logging was not possible
• The industry was only harvesting 5 trees in every 10,000
• It has resulted in a loss of employment in some regional areas
• This void is now filled with imports coming from overseas, not helping our balance of payments
• 90% of houses are built with timber framing (just have a look around your house and see how items are made of timber).

Wood, as a major product of photosynthesis, is a continually renewable resource that has obvious advantages in the light of environmental concerns. Never forget our products are harvested from trees which grow on natural resources, rainfall and solar energy. Compare this with many competitive non-timber products sourced from non-renewable resources and requiring a considerable amount of carbon-producing energy to manufacture.

Finally, for anyone who believes I am anti-trees, nothing could be further from the truth.

There is nothing more exhilarating than driving through the Dandenongs, viewing Mountain Ash trees gun barrel straight up, reaching for the sky, or visiting the near 100-year-old Redwood plantation near Warburton.