France counts a large variety of trees The 2/3 of the forest are composed of leafy trees. On 13.6 wooded hectares million inventoried on the ground: 8,600,000 ha are leafy trees, 5,000,000 ha are coniferous trees. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the French forest area has doubled. With nearly 15 million hectares in metropolis, it finds today, thanks to the effort of the foresters, the place which it occupied in the territory at the end of the Middle Ages. Durability of wood plantation It ensures their harmonious development and their regeneration. Each year, 80 million trees are planted in France, that is to say 2.5 trees a second. Forests can play a huge part in helping to reduce the levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere Wood is a more environmentally conscious building material. Wood is plentiful, durable, beautiful, and renewable. In fact, it's the only building material that renews itself. Forests can play a huge part in helping to reduce the levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. As they grow, trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and replace it with oxygen. They store carbon in their trunks, branches and leaves.Housing products made from wood need less energy to make than other building materials, such as steel, concrete or aluminium. Housing products made from wood need less energy Housing products made from wood need less energy to make than other building materials, such as steel, concrete or aluminium. An average-size house with a wooden frame has removed 7.5 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, because the carbon is now stored in the wood. However, a house with a steel frame has actually added 2.9 tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere. Timber is a more 'environmentally friendly' building material.