One other thing we should mention on this topic is that once vegetation is mature it reaches a fairly stable level of sequestered carbon (that is, it doesn’t continue to uptake more and more carbon over time once mature). So the main benefit associated with biogenic carbon uptake in trees is while they are growing, and the main impact is when they are felled (and burnt). In fact, the largest short term deviation in atmospheric carbon is due to the annual seasonal release and uptake of carbon by deciduous forests. See detailed info on this here. If timber is harvested and used for construction products that will be locked up in a building for 50 years or more then the impact of felling the trees is relatively minor. Even better if new trees are replanted. The other biogenic carbon store is soil carbon which is very complex.
Outside of Greenhouse Gas management, biodiversity is a different environmental that (in my opinion) needs due consideration as well. Native forests need to be preserved as they are habitat for species (including threatened species which need no further pressure).
Rich
