The ruler is as accurate as possible, accounting for an average of several local species of trees for each category, however no two trees are alike, and can vary massively depending on their growing conditions such as access to light, soil conditions, environmental conditions, etc. Each species varies in density considerably, which also impacts the mass, and thus the embodies carbon.

The total sequestration benefits of our trees and forests is an exciting and evolving field of study. It is more difficult to estimate soil carbon, and below-ground carbon stored in roots kin a broad sense, whereas the above-ground carbon storage is a factor of tree density and volume, and is thus easier to estimate. You can read more about the evolving study of forest carbon here: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/climate-change/climate-change-impacts-forests/forest-carbon/13085

The Carbon Storage Ruler project aims to help students explore how carbon is stored and contextualize it with the emissions of their day-to-day activities. Carbon continues to be stored in wood and wood products for their entire life, and is one of the many benefits of building with wood. Canada's forests are managed for many values, including timber products, which can be explored in greater detail here: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/our-natural-resources/forests/sustainable-forest-management/13183

The ruler was designed in-house by Forest NB Communications Manager Andy Tree (yes, that is his real name). Data was compiled by publicly available datasets from the United States Forest Service, North-Eastern Regional subset. Funding for the initial printing and distribution of the ruler was generously provided by the New Brunswick Environmental Trust Fund. The project was inspired by a similar project carries out by Forest Learning in Australia.