Living Carbon Capture: Forest Management, Fire Risk Reduction, and Long-Lived Carbon Storage

Living Carbon Capture

This page explores whether managed forests and trees can be used as a practical form of carbon capture, by combining continuous biological growth with long-term carbon storage in durable materials.

The focus is on broad-leaved trees with traditional management techniques such as coppicing and pollarding, and the use of the harvested biomass in long-lived building materials rather than for fuel or short-lived products.

The aim is not to propose a replacement for emissions reduction or energy transition, but to examine whether forest management can reduce wildfire risk, protect existing carbon stocks, and provide a durable form of carbon storage that complements existing climate strategies.

Why this matters

Wildfires are now a significant and growing source of carbon dioxide emissions in many parts of the world; they release large amounts of stored carbon in short periods, which reduces the long-term capacity of forests to act as carbon sinks.

At the same time, many current carbon capture approaches focus on new technologies, while relatively little attention is given to carbon permanence, fire resilience, and the protection of existing natural carbon stores.

There is growing evidence that forest composition and management strongly influence fire behaviour, carbon loss, and ecosystem resilience. Broad-leaved forests and mixed woodland systems generally burn less intensely than resin-rich conifer plantations, particularly under moderate fire conditions.

The core idea

This project explores a simple question:

Can trees be used as living carbon capture systems if the carbon they absorb is deliberately transferred into long-lived materials rather than released back into the atmosphere?

The proposed approach combines:

  • Managed growth of broad-leaved trees
  • Regular harvesting through coppicing or pollarding
  • Use of harvested biomass in durable materials such as wood-based insulation, panels, and construction products
  • Avoidance of combustion or short-lived uses

In this approach, forests continue to grow and absorb CO₂, while a significant fraction of that carbon is locked into buildings for decades or longer.

How this differs from conventional approaches

This is not:

  • A tree-planting offset scheme
  • A proposal to burn biomass for energy
  • A substitute for reducing fossil fuel emissions
  • A claim that forests alone can solve climate change

Instead, it is an attempt to combine ecological processes with material durability, so that carbon captured by trees is stored more reliably than in unmanaged biomass that may later be lost to fire, decay, or land-use change.

Fire risk and resilience

Forest management choices strongly influence wildfire behaviour. Broad-leaved species, mixed woodland structures, and reducing ladder fuels such as low growth, are generally associated with:

  • Lower fire intensity
  • Reduced likelihood of crown fires
  • Slower fire spread under many conditions

By integrating carbon capture with fire-resilient forest structure, this approach aims to reduce the risk of large, rapid carbon losses from wildfires while maintaining long-term ecosystem health.

A proposed pilot project

This site outlines a small-to-medium scale pilot project designed to test whether this approach is practical, measurable, and scalable.

The pilot would:

  • Operate on a limited forest area
  • Use native broad-leaved species
  • Produce verified quantities of long-lived biomass materials
  • Track carbon uptake, storage duration, and fire-risk indicators

The intention is to generate real data, not to promote a finished solution.

Open questions

This is an exploratory proposal, not a settled model. Key questions include:

  • How much carbon can realistically be stored over time?
  • How durable are different material pathways?
  • How should carbon accounting treat harvested biomass in buildings?
  • Where does this approach make sense, and where does it not?

Critical feedback and discussion are actively welcomed.

Further detail

A more detailed briefing note outlining the pilot concept, assumptions, and uncertainties can be downloaded here:

[Download: Living Carbon Capture – Pilot Concept (PDF)]

This briefing is shared for comment and critique. Last updated 02/02/2026 Version 0.1

If you work in forestry, fire management, materials science, climate policy, or related fields and would like to comment or point out existing work in this area, you can contact: geoff.rowlands@guymo.co.uk