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Forestry · Environment · Carbon

Carbon storage life

12% to long-term

Of the carbon leaving the estate in harvested wood, the share entering long-lived product pools — sawn hardwood destined for housing, furniture and joinery — versus short-lived pools of pulp, chip and paper. The grading mix sets the split.

Worked example · Harvested-wood carbon by storage life
12% locked long-term 12% 80% Long-term · sawn hardwood (decades) Short-term · pulp, chip, paper (1–3 yrs) Residue · bark & fines (near-term)
Harvested-wood carbon by storage life
The benchmark

Harvested wood stores carbon for very different lifetimes — sawn hardwood in housing and furniture for decades to a century, while pulp, chip and paper release theirs within a few years.

FWPA ↗
What it signals

A pulpwood plantation banks carbon fast while it grows, but stores little of it once harvested: most is chipped and released within a few years. Lifting the sawlog grade is the single lever that shifts harvested carbon from the short pool into decades-long storage — though sawn recovery means the realised long-term share is lower still.

Data required to calculate
Product carbon by gradetCO₂eSawn recovery factorratio

Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses, and keeps the figure current automatically.

How to improve it
01

Grow to sawlog spec so more carbon enters durable products.

02

Favour end-uses — construction, furniture — that hold carbon longest.

03

Pair harvest with replanting so the site keeps drawing carbon down.

Questions & answers

What is carbon storage life?

Of the carbon leaving the estate in harvested wood, the share entering long-lived product pools — sawn hardwood destined for housing, furniture and joinery — versus short-lived pools of pulp, chip and paper. The grading mix sets the split.

What data do you need to calculate carbon storage life?

You need: Product carbon by grade (tCO₂e), Sawn recovery factor (ratio). Silo pulls each of these from the sources the operation already uses and keeps the figure current automatically.

What is a good carbon storage life benchmark?

Harvested wood stores carbon for very different lifetimes — sawn hardwood in housing and furniture for decades to a century, while pulp, chip and paper release theirs within a few years.

How do you improve carbon storage life?

Grow to sawlog spec so more carbon enters durable products. Favour end-uses — construction, furniture — that hold carbon longest. Pair harvest with replanting so the site keeps drawing carbon down.

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