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submitted 2 weeks ago by silence7@slrpnk.net to c/climate@slrpnk.net

The paper is here

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[-] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 17 points 2 weeks ago

AFAIK (I'm not a botanist) it's true of many larger trees that they use more oxygen than they produce and emit more CO2 than they consume. It's the biosphere that the large trees support that does a lot of the carbon sinking - mosses, ferns, vines, etc.

As a rule of thumb, the greater the ratio of woody mass to leafy mass the more the ratio tilts away from being a carbon sink, as the whole lifeform has to undergo aerobic respiration but only the leaves participate in photosynthesis.

[-] reallykindasorta@slrpnk.net 8 points 2 weeks ago

That’s my understanding too. The carbon sink bit has to do with burying the plant matter before all of its carbon has had a chance to react with oxygen

this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2025
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