Why not plant fast growing species?

Purely in terms of carbon sequestration, certain conifer species such as Sitka spruce -- or even more exotic species such as Eucalypts -- offer the fastest rate of growth.

One course of action would be to plant large areas with these fast growing monocultures to maximize the amount of carbon drawn out of the atmosphere.

However, such plantations are not compatible with the more general aims of the Woodland Trust and would fail to deliver the many additional benefits of new native woodland.

In any case, the rate of carbon sequestration does not affect the amount of carbon finally stored: that is greatest in undisturbed native woodland.

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