Study says strategic pine planting and harvesting in North Carolina could help fight climate change WSOC TV [Video]

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — Acres and acres of loblolly pines line the rural roads of Rowan County. Some tower above 60 feet, others are just barely high enough to see out your car window.

Forestry consultants like Todd Dowdle with Yadkin Forestry and Realty, have spent the past few decades planting and managing these stands as part of the piedmont’s timber industry, a $35 billion dollar sector of the state’s economy.

“[Loblolly’s] a good economic tree and it’s a faster-growing tree than just about any species that’s going to be out here,” he said.

More than an economic boon, however, researchers from the Yale School for the Environment believe growing more of these loblolly pine stands can also help combat climate change.

As a part of the Roads to Removalstudy, which looks at ways the United States can leverage its resources to remove and store atmospheric carbon dioxide, researchers like Thomas Harris and Sarah Kuebbing looked at the potential impact of using …