How do deep-rooted trees help store carbon and fight climate change?

The answer

Trees store approximately 30% of their total carbon in root systems, with some species sending roots over 60 meters deep. Globally, soil contains roughly 2,500 gigatons of carbon - three times more than the atmosphere and four times more than all living biomass. Deep-rooted tropical trees access water and nutrients from bedrock fractures, enabling forests to maintain photosynthesis during droughts. A 2024 study in Nature Geoscience found that old-growth forests continue accumulating carbon in soil for centuries, contradicting the assumption that mature forests are carbon-neutral. Mangrove forests are particularly efficient, storing up to four times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial forests in their waterlogged, oxygen-poor soils.