I SUSPECT Dr GW Cross (Letters, February 8) is not a botanist as he fails to recognise the difference between annual and perennial plants, arguing that growing turnips fixes more carbon than growing trees. Annuals rot at the end of their annual growth cycle and return their carbon to the biosphere on a 12-month cycle. Woody perennials, particularly large, long-lived species such as trees, have the potential to fix and store carbon for decades or even centuries.
In planting large areas of forest we not only improve our local environment but we remove some carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and make a contribution to reduction in global warming. Annual crops are not equivalent to trees: try putting some wood chips on your dinner plate if you are not convinced.
Bob Downie,
66 Mansewood Road, Glasgow.
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