Determining the Amount of Carbon Sequestered by a Woodland
Students will engage in running the G.L.O.B.E. biometry protocol on our campus woodland. Once students have determined the type and amount and approximate ages of the trees in the woodland, they then will do the calculations to determine the amount of carbon sequestered by these trees. The ideal area would be a 30 meter by 30 meter wooded area to run the tests in. This protocol can also be done for only a couple of trees, if that is all you have near your campus.
The amount of carbon sequestered depends upon the tree type and the age of the tree [22]. Have students construct the following spreadsheet to determine the sequestration value for the woodland they analyzed.
(table 07.05.01.04 available in print form)
The sum of all the values for the last column in the spreadsheet will be the amount of carbon the woodland will sequester annually.
Once students have determined the amount of carbon sequestered annually, they then need to change their answer from lbs/yr/30 m 2 to how many lbs/yr/ft 2 to be used when extrapolating to the amount of carbon sequestered by the other wooded areas in the county. Distances in these photographs are based in feet and calculating area on these photographs will come out to ft 2. You should have the students figure out this conversion. It is amazing how few students get the opportunity to convert measurement between units. This is a very good skill to teach your students. They need to be able to use conversion factors to determine the proper amounts of many things in their lives on the job and at home.
Students will use an aerial photograph to determine all the wooded areas and trace them on vellum. The area in square feet of each of these areas is calculated. The sum of all the areas is then determined. They can then determine the carbon sequestration capacity of the land in the aerial.
I would then have students do the following calculation assignment and write a letter to their local representative explaining and describing the problems associated with the difference in the values of CO 2 produced by commuter vehicles and CO 2 sequestered in wooded areas and what the county may be able to do to increase sequestration of emissions.
According to the Delaware Office of State Planning coordination, New Castle County currently has 43,888.72 acres of forested land. This number reflects an almost 6% reduction in forested lands in just five years.
Using your calculations, how much carbon can the county's forest resources sequester annually?
Looking at your results from the amount of carbon that is produced by the commuter vehicles in New Castle County, do the forest resources offset the proper amount of carbon just for our transportation emissions?
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