The use of tree stumps and roots for energy may release significant amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, according to a new study in the scientific journal Global Change Biology-Bioenergy. Uprooting trees disturbs the soil, releasing the carbon that was stored underground.
"Our paper suggests the carbon in the mineral soil may change more rapidly, and result in increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide, as a result of disturbances such as logging," says Andrew Friedland, a professor at Darthmouth College and a co-author of the study, told Popular Science. "Our paper suggests that increased reliance on wood may have the unintended effect of increasing the transfer of carbon from the mineral soil to the atmosphere."
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