I thought (maybe i'm wrong?) that they still respire... so taking in Oxygen, and breathe out CO2... and that photosynthesis is a different mechanism that extracts CO2 from the air and produces O2
Pretty sure I read somewhere that some trees can take around a decade to grow to the point where they become net extractors of CO2?
Yes, all plants do that. However, over time, the net is more CO2 is taken out of the atmosphere, and more O2 is out into the atmosphere (while the tree is still alive). Trees are still carbon based life form, and as they grow, carbon is needed to construct their cells. The main place to get carbon is from the atmosphere, and no where else come close.
When I was young I assumed they extracted their mass mostly through their root system. Then one day it occurred to me that to do that they would be creating sinkholes for themselves.
I wonder if OOP thinks trees are taking it from the ground?
Veritasium did a video about that since it does seem so counter intuitive. But then if you remember a potted plant cn get quit large, it makes more sense.
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u/cheeseybees 2d ago
I thought (maybe i'm wrong?) that they still respire... so taking in Oxygen, and breathe out CO2... and that photosynthesis is a different mechanism that extracts CO2 from the air and produces O2
Pretty sure I read somewhere that some trees can take around a decade to grow to the point where they become net extractors of CO2?