More oxygen,
less carbon dioxide
During their vegetative phase, plants engage in a series of exchanges with the soil in which they grow and the air.
These result in valuable environmental benefits. The roots absorb water and nutritional elements from the soil, a vital source of nourishment that travels through the trunk to the leaves, where something extraordinary happens: photosynthesis. It is a process fuelled only by solar energy, which allows the plants to absorb carbon dioxide from the air and generate fresh new oxygen. This is also how substances rich in energy, like the sugars and starches – the constituent elements of wood – lignin and cellulose, are produced. Just think, for every cubic metre of wood it makes, a tree will absorb up to a ton of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and replenish it with 700 kilograms of good oxygen.
The process of photosynthesis, which is especially accentuated in young trees, diminishes in intensity until it almost comes to a halt as the tree matures and becomes old. This is why it is so important for forests to be managed and constantly renewed.
An excessive concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere, much of it caused by pollution, is considered one of the main causes of the greenhouse effect and therefore of global warming and climatic change on our planet. A great deal of our ability to combat this worrying phenomenon rests on using wood that comes from forests that have been managed in an eco-sustainable manner.
FOR A HEALTHY PLANET, LONG LIVE WOOD
Thanks to growing wood and biomasses, more than 2 billion tons of carbon are absorbed. That is 50% of the earth’s comprehensive capacity. But trees do much more than just absorb carbon. Trees have to hold on to it for as long as possible before it is released back into the atmosphere. This is why it is important that wood, aside from being a product of nature, be used to make long-lasting products for man to use and enjoy. This is, in fact, the only way to ensure that forests continue to thrive.