Top: Lompico Forest redwoods; Bottom: Creek in Lompico Forest, Santa Cruz County

Redwoods & Climate Change

Sempervirens Fund has always known that redwood trees are important for habitat, water, recreation, and other reasons, but now we know that redwoods are also critical in the fight against global climate change. California coast redwoods are very efficient at capturing and storing carbon dioxide, the lead cause of global warming. Some studies conclude that the massive coast redwoods sequester more carbon dioxide than any other trees on the planet.

Forests play a key role in influencing the earth’s climate. They naturally sequester carbon through the process of photosynthesis, but become a significant source of carbon emissions when cut, burned, or degraded by human activities. Deforestation and other destructive land use changes account for nearly 25% of global carbon dioxide emissions. When forests are degraded or cleared due to subdivision or development, they release much of their stored carbon back into the atmosphere, increasing the growing imbalance in the world’s natural carbon cycle.

In the United States, forests actually act as net carbon sinks, sequestering more carbon than they emit. However, there is still a vast amount of forest land that is in need of greater protection in order to ensure the security of the forests’ carbon benefits to our earth and our atmosphere. Moreover, our local forests are not in a closed carbon system: emissions reductions made at home in turn affect the entire global climate regime. Because the coast redwood forests have the highest carbon density per acre in the world, protecting them can have a significant impact in the fight against global climate change.

Lompico Forest Carbon Project

Sempervirens Fund’s Lompico Forest Carbon Project is a pioneering initiative that demonstrates the importance of forest preservation in controlling climate change. Located on 425 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Lompico forest naturally sequesters massive amounts of carbon each year. Sempervirens Fund is ensuring the future of this forest’s carbon benefits to our earth and our atmosphere by purchasing property rights that will permanently prevent future subdivision or development of the property. To support this purchase, Sempervirens Fund is selling greenhouse gas emissions reductions, or carbon credits, on an annual basis as the trees continue to grow. The project, which follows stringent standards of carbon accounting set forth by the Climate Action Reserve, allows large organizations who buy the carbon credits from Sempervirens Fund to join the fight against climate change and reduce their carbon footprint.

For more information about this exciting project, contact Laura McLendon at lmclendon@sempervirens.org or (650) 949-1453.



Redwoods & Climate Change Sempervirens Fund has always known that redwood trees are important for habitat, water, recreation, and other reasons, but now we know that redwoods are also critical in the fight against global climate change. California coast redwoods are very efficient at capturing and storing carbon dioxide, the lead cause of global warming. Some studies conclude that the massive coast redwoods sequester more carbon dioxide than any other trees on the planet. Forests play a key role in influencing the earth’s climate. They naturally sequester carbon through the process of photosynthesis, but become a significant source of carbon emissions when cut, burned, or degraded by human activities. Deforestation and other destructive land use changes account for nearly 25% of global carbon dioxide emissions. When forests are degraded or cleared due to subdivision or development, they release much of their stored carbon back into the atmosphere, increasing the growing imbalance in the world’s natural carbon cycle. In the United States, forests actually act as net carbon sinks, sequestering more carbon than they emit. However, there is still a vast amount of forest land that is in need of greater protection in order to ensure the security of the forests’ carbon benefits to our earth and our atmosphere. Moreover, our local forests are not in a closed carbon system: emissions reductions made at home in turn affect the entire global climate regime. Because the coast redwood forests have the highest carbon density per acre in the world, protecting them can have a significant impact in the fight against global climate change. Lompico Forest Carbon Project Sempervirens Fund’s Lompico Forest Carbon Project is a pioneering initiative that demonstrates the importance of forest preservation in controlling climate change. Located on 425 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the Lompico forest naturally sequesters massive amounts of carbon each year. Sempervirens Fund is ensuring the future of this forest’s carbon benefits to our earth and our atmosphere by purchasing property rights that will permanently prevent future subdivision or development of the property. To support this purchase, Sempervirens Fund is selling greenhouse gas emissions reductions, or carbon credits, on an annual basis as the trees continue to grow. The project, which follows stringent standards of carbon accounting set forth by the Climate Action Reserve, allows large organizations who buy the carbon credits from Sempervirens Fund to join the fight against climate change and reduce their carbon footprint. For more information about this exciting project, contact Laura McLendon at lmclendon@sempervirens.org or (650) 949-1453.