Wood Burial: A Simple Solution to Combat Climate Change

Humanity is striving to curb global warming and reduce the severity of future climate disasters. With generally lukewarm attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, researchers are racing to find practical ways to remove carbon from the atmosphere. One simple and effective proposal that is gaining attention is wood burial.

The Concept of Wood Burial

Wood burial, also known as biomass burial or wood storage, has the potential to sequester over 12 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually. According to a recent study in the journal ‘Nature Geoscience,’ this solution could reduce global warming by more than a third of a degree Celsius. Although this difference might seem small, preventing temperature rises by even a few tenths of a degree could avert the collapse of polar ice sheets, coral reefs, and other critical thresholds.

How Wood Burial Works

The idea is simple: instead of building massive machines to collect carbon dioxide and inject it deep into the Earth’s crust, wood burial shifts materials from the fast biological carbon cycle to the slower geological cycle. Research shows that terrestrial plants alone capture significant amounts of carbon annually, but most of it returns to the atmosphere through decomposition.

If carbon dioxide is buried under layers of soil where oxygen is unavailable for bacteria to break down the wood tissues, it will not be released or will be released in minimal amounts. This can significantly contribute to achieving global carbon reduction goals.

Practical Applications of Wood Burial

Some startups have already begun implementing the concept of wood burial. In Colorado, a company named Woodcache has been collecting and burying debris from forestry operations. In Montana, Mast Reforestation has buried burnt trees on a piece of private land.

Research has shown that wood buried in clay soils can remain stable for thousands of years, preventing bacterial decomposition. However, each burial site must be monitored to ensure the wood remains stable as planned.

Challenges and Opportunities

Despite the potential benefits of wood burial, there are challenges associated with its implementation, such as the need for roads to support heavy machinery and securing financial backing. Nevertheless, wood burial is considered a more socially acceptable alternative to more complex technologies like direct air capture machines.

Investments in complex climate technologies continue, but the concept of wood burial demonstrates that simple solutions can also be effective. As research suggests, “What if the solution is just digging a hole and putting some wood in it?”

Conclusion

Wood burial is a simple yet effective solution to climate challenges. It can store vast amounts of carbon and significantly reduce global warming. While there are challenges in its implementation, the potential benefits make wood burial an attractive option in carbon management. Continued research and development in this field may lead to significant improvements in global efforts to mitigate climate change.