A group in Michigan is cloning extremely large and long lived trees in an effort to curb global warming, according to this AP article. Trees are very good at sequestering carbon–they absorb carbon from the air and that carbon becomes part of the tree for as long as it is living. When the tree dies, the carbon is slowly released back into the atmosphere as the tree decays (or quickly if the tree is burned). Immense, long lived trees, such as Coast Redwoods and Giant Sequoias, can store a lot of carbon for a long time, and this is what the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is counting on.
The mission of Archangel Ancient Tree Archive is to clone the largest and longest lived trees–so called “super-trees”–and plant the clones to serve as carbon banks. The group argues that by cloning and replanting the trees with the greatest potential for carbon sequestering, they will get better results than just planting a random tree of that species. The merit of the super-tree method is debatable, according to the article:
Scientific opinion varies on whether trees that survive for centuries have superior genes, like champion race horses, or simply have been in the right places at the right times to avoid fires, diseases and other misfortunes.
But whether or not the science backs the super-tree idea, seems beside the point to me. Planting trees is a small but import step to combat the looming disaster of global warming. Planting a tree that may have the potential to sequester a larger amount of carbon is worth a shot. Below are links to the AP article and to the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive.