PEI forests emit more carbon than they absorb post Hurricane Fiona, report says
Prince Edward Island is projected to turn back into a carbon sink, absorbing more carbon than it releases, by 2045.
A new government report analyzing the impact Hurricane Fiona had on forests since it made landfall two years ago says P.E.I. forests are now releasing more carbon than they absorb due to the decomposition of fallen trees.
However, experts say there is no apparent threat to the environment, nor is the phenomenon out of the ordinary.
The report, penned by the provincial government, says about 9.4 per cent of P.E.I.'s forested areas—equating to about 24,300 hectares—sustained significant damage from the storm, which made landfall on September 24, 2022. Experts say it could take upwards of 50 years for forests to return to their pre-Fiona states.
Since then, rotting trees have been steadily emitting carbon dioxide, but the Island is projected to turn back into a carbon sink, absorbing more carbon than it releases, by 2045.
Speaking with The Canadian Press (CP), P.E.I. forestry inventory analyst Matt Angus says the storm damage sustained by the Island's forests is roughly equal to eight to 10 years' worth of the local logging industry's harvest.
But regrowth has already begun, and officials are keeping a close watch on regeneration.
Anthony Taylor, a professor of forestry and environmental management at the University of New Brunswick, told CP the carbon emissions from fallen trees are "pretty standard" and that the emissions aren't as harmful as those from forest fires.
"When you have fire occur, you have that combustion taking place and carbon being released right away. With wind, it tends to knock all the trees down, and a lot of them die and begin to decompose, but the decomposition is a lot slower."
Hurricane Fiona is Atlantic Canada's costliest storm on record. Original estimates in 2022 tallied damages at around $660 million, but that number was revised a year later to $800 million.
RELATED: Before and after photos of Fiona
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