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Low-cost carbon capture? Bury wood debris in managed forests

Taking carbon out of the atmosphere is essential for slowing global warming—and a team of Cornell University researchers has estimated "huge" potential for carbon capture using a method that is low-tech, sustainable and relatively simple: burying wood, especially the debris from managed forests.

In the study, published in , researchers found that burying wood debris from managed forests over the next 76 years could remove between 770 and 937 gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, resulting in a reduction of global temperatures by up to 0.42 degrees Celsius (0.76 degrees Fahrenheit).

If the U.S. buried 66% of the wood debris from its managed forests, net zero emissions could be reached by 2050.

"Based on my knowledge, this is the most effective and the least expensive, and possibly the most sustainable way to capture carbon," said first author professor Yiqi Luo. "There's huge potential."

Managed forests, typically used for logging, produce large amounts of wood debris, which is often burned or left to decompose, emitting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Burying the wood debris preserves it in the soil and largely prevents carbon dioxide from escaping.

"Soil is a very good natural insulator and can naturally deplete oxygen to prevent wood debris from decomposition and carbon dioxide release," Luo said. "So, if we bury the wood 2 meters deep, the wood can be preserved there for hundreds, even thousands of years."

The authors focused on managed forests, sawmills and discarded furniture as the greatest source of wood debris—with the biggest potential for impact—but the method could apply to urban maintenance, orchards and farms.

Luo is collaborating with colleagues to investigate whether orchards in New York state can achieve carbon neutrality by burying wood debris.

The practice could also incentivize the removal of debris from forests in areas of high wildfire risk, reducing the amount of fuel for fires while capturing carbon.

The authors said further large-scale demonstrations are needed to assess the method's impact on soil health, methane emissions, soil nutrients and biodiversity.