2-2-7- Step 7: Estimating Oxygen production by trees in
the study area
Oxygen is produced through photosynthesis process:
\begin{equation}
{6CO}_{2}\ \left(264\ g\right)+\ 6H_{2}\text{O\ }\left(108\ g\right)+light\rightarrow C_{6}H_{12}O_{6}\ \left(180\ g\right)+\ {6O}_{2}\ \left(193\ g\right)\ \rightarrow\ Amylase\ (162\ g)\nonumber \\
\end{equation}Respiration
:(CH2O)n+nO2→n(CO2)+n(H2O)+energy
As shown in the photosynthesis equation, plants absorb 264 grams of
CO2 to produce 193 grams of O2 and 162
grams of dry matter in the form of fiber and starch (Blankenship, 2014).
On the other hand, plants respiration process consumes some produced
oxygen in the photosynthetic process according to the chemical equation
of respiration; therefore, the net production of oxygen by trees is a
function of producing oxygen during photosynthesis minus the amount of
oxygen consumed during respiration (Nowak et al., 2007).
Also, since the net oxygen production by a tree over a year is directly
related to the amount of carbon released by the tree, the amount of
oxygen produced is tied to the accumulation of tree biomass. Therefore,
if the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed during photosynthesis exceeds
the carbon dioxide due to respiration during the year, it accumulates in
carbon trees (carbon sequestration). Thus, a tree that has a net carbon
accumulation during a year, it also produces net oxygen (Nowak et al.,
2007).
The net annual amount of oxygen produced is estimated according to
Equation (-) (Nowak et al., 2007). According to the relation (1), the
amount of oxygen production (O2) in kilograms per year
is calculated by multiplying the net precipitation of carbon (C) (in
kilograms or grams) by the ratio of the atomic weight of oxygen to
carbon (32/12=2.67).