Billions of trees are killed every year from wildfires, drought, disease or deforestation. And that’s a problem for the climate.

Daley: “Forests are like sponges that absorb carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store it away safely. Our trees and forests sequester and store about 14 percent of our carbon dioxide emissions here in the U.S. every single year.”

Jad Daley is with American Forests, a nonprofit. He says through partnerships with public land owners like the U.S. Forest Service, the group has planted more than 40 million trees across the U.S. The organization provides funding and expertise.

Daley: “Increasingly the science behind how we design that reforestation is becoming a really important part of how American Forests is thinking about our work.”

Because climate change is taking a toll on forest health, American Forests plants species that should better withstand climate impacts such as drought, new pests, and diseases.

The trees planted by the organization replace only a tiny fraction of the number lost each year, but …

Daley: “This carbon capturing power that forests have is something that will just keep humming along year after year.”

Reporting credit: Alison Fromme/ChavoBart Digital Media.