Sometimes people ask me “how can Mass Timber be good for the environment if you’re cutting down trees!”.
By now most people have learned that trees sequester carbon, and this is necessary to reduce carbon in the atmosphere, which science has proven to cause climate change.
What some people may not know is that trees do not absorb carbon at a constant rate forever and ever. Trees used in commercial mass timber tend to reach their max carbon sequestration rate once they are ~30-70 years old, after which, their carbon sequestration tends to taper off.

So if we want to absorb as much carbon as possible, the next logical step is to harvest the trees after they reach their climax and plant new ones that will sequester carbon at a high rate! This is sustainable forestry. In sustainable forestry, harvesting before the climax phase ends and replanting ensures a continuous cycle of high carbon absorption rates.
There are other advantages too. Sustainable forestry cleans the forest floor, ensure wildfire fuels are removed, and if done correctly, ensure that the fuels don’t hit the floor in the first place!
Finally, unhealthy forests have trees at the end of their life that have died and fallen over. These dead trees are releasing all of their stored carbon back into the atmosphere.
So if we really want our forests to be healthy, efficient carbon sequestration machines, we need to harvest the wood in sustainably managed forests and replant.
Mass Timber Services would love to tell you about the advanced techniques used in Mayr-Melnhoff’s managed forests in Austria, Germany and Norway. By specifying European Spruce in your next project, you are ensuring that the world’s forests can do their job in the most efficient way possible!