ztmwvo t1_jd8bxxg wrote on March 22, 2023 at 3:45 PM

Reply to comment by Suuperdad in I write The Washington Post’s Climate Coach column, where I help people figure out what they can do to help curb climate change. Ask me Anything! by washingtonpost

Thank you for your comment and this is info I actually already knew. I asked a one-variable question for a specific reason. Had I asked what is the best way to nurture and increase the local environment of flora and fauna, your response would have been brilliantly on-point. Again, your comment was very good.

I am just curious from a scientific standpoint, which types of trees more efficiently capture carbon? I’m not going to plant anything as my yard is 8’ x 10’ and I live in the city. There is a 100 year old maple in the strip between the sidewalk and the street that the city is going to cut down and I was curious what type of tree could occupy that spot that captured carbon more efficiently, if any.

Suuperdad t1_jd9367k wrote on March 22, 2023 at 6:35 PM

Where abouts are you I'm Denver? If I know what zone I can make a recommendation.

But for example, if purely sequestering carbon is your goal, you would plant hemp and cut it very regularly. It may not make many friends. Or you could plant Paulonia Tomentosa, a nasty invasive, but world's fastest growing tree.

But if you want a more holistic approach, I could give a sample polyculture guild you could use if I knew what zone you were on. For example, NW Denver is almost zone 7, whereas South East Denver is as low as zone 4b or 5a.