Which statement best describes forests as carbon sinks and a management practice that enhances sequestration?

• A. Forests store large carbon pools and practices like afforestation and reforestation enhance sequestration.
• B. Forests release more carbon than they store.
• C. Sequestration is unaffected by management.
• D. Only urban trees sequester carbon.

Answer: (A)

Forests act as carbon sinks because they store carbon in wood, litter, and soils, meaning they pull CO2 from the atmosphere and lock it away for long periods as biomass and soil organic matter. As trees grow, they accumulate more biomass and contribute to soil carbon, creating large overall carbon pools. Management practices like afforestation (adding new forests where none existed) and reforestation (replanting forests after they’ve been cleared) increase the amount of forested area and boost growth, which raises both the rate and the total amount of carbon being sequestered from the atmosphere. This combination—a system that stores substantial carbon and management actions that enhance uptake—best describes how forests function as carbon sinks and how sequestration can be strengthened. Other ideas—forests releasing more carbon than they store, sequestration being unaffected by management, or only urban trees sequestering carbon—don’t align with how forest carbon dynamics operate across ecosystems.