Carbon emitted from the forest creates a problem for us in the atmosphere by changing the climate. Carbon stored in the forest is safe. 1 ha of primary forest can store the annual carbon footprint of 250 Europeans. Ceasing logging in both old-growth and earlier stage forests is the most effective measure we have, to take CO2 from the atmosphere.
Explanatory notes:
There is an initial loss of soil carbon when a primary forest is logged that is not replaced during rotations of regrowth. (High magnitude of loss of surface soil and forest floor humus material, that it is not just the wood being removed).
The relative difference between primary and production forest is taking into account the reduction in carbon in both the biomass and soil.
When this amount of soil and organic material is lost, it is unlikely that repeated rotations of forests could be grown on these sites as productivity would be very reduced.
The carbon stock for the production forest represents the average for different age classes across the landscape.
The 2500 year time period represents ongoing accumulation of carbon in the forest floor and soil, but the living biomass does reach a maximum in old-growth forests.
