While it is certainly true that the timber in buildings can lock up the sequestered carbon for a long time (especially if we design for longevity) harvesting trees for building releases carbon over a short time scale. Over 30% is left in the forest as roots and trimmings which decomposes. 5-10% may be lost to the stripped bark which is often burnt for power and depending on the use the log is put to, more may be lost at the processing stage where timber that is too small for construction is pulped for short lived paper and card products. Any new planting has to over come this deficit before we can say that we have increased the carbon sequestered in our forests
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