At Trees That Count, we support our planters who strive to ensure every tree planted to benefit the environment of Aotearoa New Zealand.
We know it’s important for you to understand the positive impact of your contribution, and that’s why we’ve partnered with trusted experts, including Tāne’s Tree Trust, to help calculate and explain these benefits.
What is CO₂ removal (sequestration) and restoration (revegetation)?
Carbon removal (otherwise known as ‘sequestration’) – The process where trees and plants remove CO₂ from the air and store it in their trunks, roots, and soil (known as carbon sinks), thereby helping to reduce greenhouse gases and combat climate change.
Restoration (otherwise known as ‘revegetation’) – The process of restoring native plant life to areas where they used to grow by planting trees, improving biodiversity, soil health, water quality, and ecosystem resilience.
How we calculate expected CO₂ to be removed (sequestered)
Native trees play a vital role in sequestering carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere, and our calculations focus on showing this expected impact.
We use Tāne’s Tree Trust’s Carbon Calculator, a tool specifically designed to estimate the carbon sequestration potential of New Zealand native trees and shrubs.
Here’s how it works:
It estimates how much CO₂ trees may absorb over 50 years—assuming they survive.
The model uses a mix of 25% trees and 75% shrubs.
The calculations are based on scientific formulas developed for New Zealand’s native forests.
Reducing this complex calculation to a number, on average, each plant is expected to remove 0.22 tonnes of CO₂ over 50 years.
This means you can link your support directly to real-world activities like travel or energy use, helping you to fund native tree planting based on the impact of your day-to-day emissions and mitigate its environmental impact.
Example:
Emissions from a medium-sized car driving 10,000 km may be mitigated by planting 9 native trees and shrubs. They will slowly sequester the CO₂ from the atmosphere over 50 years as they grow.
How we calculate land area to be restored (revegetated)
The native trees you help plant do more than sequester carbon—they restore ecosystems and create habitat for wildlife. Each tree contributes to the revegetation of Aotearoa’s unique landscapes.
To calculate the land area revegetated, we use an average planting spacing of 1.7 m which equates to 2.89 m² per plant. Once mature, some trees will occupy a much larger area and will hopefully become a seed-source for the natural establishment of even more forest.
The plant spacing of 1.7 m is the average of all plantings reported to us. Planters may report a range of spacing depending on the species planted, the terrain revegetated, and advice from our Ecologists to maximise survival and revegetation efforts.
Example:
23 trees revegetate 66.5 m² of land – which is roughly 1/4 the size of a tennis court (260 m²).
Important notes
The carbon calculator shows nature’s potential but cannot be used for official carbon offset claims.
Tāne’s Tree Trust’s Carbon Calculator is grounded in rigorous science. However, the actual amount of CO₂ sequestered or land revegetated may vary. Factors like planting methods, site conditions, and survival rates can influence these calculations over time.
This tool is provided free of charge by Tāne’s Tree Trust. Its results are based on general models and not specific to individual sites.