“Burying Dead Trees in Giant Graveyards: A Simple Solution to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions”

A groundbreaking discovery of a 3,775-year-old log buried in Quebec, Canada, is shedding light on a simple yet effective method to combat greenhouse gas emissions by burying dead trees in massive graveyards. This ancient log, belonging to an Eastern red cedar, was found under 6.5 feet of blue clay near a creek bed, preserved by the lack of oxygen in the dense clay particles.

Lead author Ning Zeng, a climate scientist at the University of Maryland, has been researching the concept of burying wood to sequester carbon since 2008. The log’s remarkable preservation, with almost no loss of carbon content, serves as a critical data point to support the effectiveness of wood vaulting in locking away carbon.

Wood vaulting, a form of biological carbon sequestration, involves entombing woody biomass under clay soil to prevent the release of carbon back into the atmosphere. The log’s intact cell structure and resistance to decay highlight the potential of this method to sequester carbon on a large scale.

According to the researchers, burying trees in wood vaults could offset nearly a third of annual fossil fuel emissions. Waste wood from urban trees and managed forests could be easily diverted to these vaults, utilizing widespread clay soils for burial sites. Once buried, these sites could be repurposed for agriculture or solar farming.

Several pilot projects have already been completed by Zeng’s company, Carbon Lockdown, and other companies are also exploring this technology. The findings from this ancient log provide proof of concept for wood vaulting as a viable solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.