Inaction on aging trees leads to less CO2 absorption

Officials of the Sammu municipal government make the rounds of forests in Sammu, Chiba Prefecture, in May. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

Although the size of Japan's forested areas has hardly changed, the amount of greenhouse gases absorbed by forests fell by as much as 20% in the six years through fiscal 2020.

The decline was primarily due to an increase in the proportion of old trees, which photosynthesize less than younger ones, as the country's forestry industry declines. Unless the amount of CO2 absorbed by forests is kept from falling too sharply, there is little hope in achieving the government's target greenhouse gas reductions.