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I guess that would depend on the tree, wouldn't it? How is a tiny little seedling going to clean as much carbon as a tree that took 40 years to become anything substantial?

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Well... the process of that seedling growing into the big tree over 40 years is what takes carbon out of the atmosphere. The carbon just goes into the tree's biomass. So - long term, if you have a steady state where the biomass of the trees you're talking about remains roughly constant (or dips but comes back to the same level) - it is carbon neutral. Even if you're cutting down big trees and planting seedlings.

Of course, you're right, there's nuance there. If you start with a mature forest, cut it all down, and replant it with seedlings, that's not a steady state (yet) - particularly when you take ecosystem effects into account, I suspect.

If you take land that doesn't currently have trees on it, and plant a bunch of trees that you periodically cut down and replant then you're at worst carbon neutral. Unless that land would have otherwise be planted and left alone entirely.

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