Forests and arable energy crops in Britain: can they help stop global warming?

Afforestation is frequently proposed as a measure for soaking up emissions of the ''greenhouse-gas'' carbon dioxide. British forests presently store around 120 million tonnes of carbon, somewhat less than the quantity of carbon emitted as carbon dioxide by Britain in one year at current rates. In addition to their carbon storage function, forests have a valuable role to play as a renewable source of fuel and energy- efficient structural material. The rudiments of a method for assessing the carbon budget for the production of fuelwood, including the carbon effectively stored in the form of saved fossil fuel, is described with particular reference to arable energy crops. It is estimated that 1 hectare of fast growing coppice could sustainably store 3 tonnes of carbon per year if the harvested wood were burnt as a substitute for coal, although this result depends to a great extent on the burning efficiencies of wood and coal. (Author)