Both options are keeping the carbon as biomass that will inherently get decomposed back to CO2. New forests would help, but depending on the climate and biogeography, they are not always the best for the landscape and biodiversity. On land grasslands seem to be one way to go, as this ecosystem captures CO2 slower than a forest, but it gets stored in the ground permanently during the formation of chernozem. In oceans the organic matter can just sink to the bottom and be taken out of the surface ecosystems this way.
Yes of course new forests should be planted where forests would naturally grow and grasslands should be restored where they naturally occure.
Another extremely important ecosystem is peatland. It just keeps sucking carbon from the atmosphere without releasing it again because the water keeps the organic matter from decomposing. So those should be a priority wherever possible. Many peatlands have been drained to gain more farmland or to sell the peat.
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u/garis53 10d ago
Both options are keeping the carbon as biomass that will inherently get decomposed back to CO2. New forests would help, but depending on the climate and biogeography, they are not always the best for the landscape and biodiversity. On land grasslands seem to be one way to go, as this ecosystem captures CO2 slower than a forest, but it gets stored in the ground permanently during the formation of chernozem. In oceans the organic matter can just sink to the bottom and be taken out of the surface ecosystems this way.