Waveland Press, Inc., Long Grove, IL. â¢DÃaz Balteiro, Romero, C.. 2001. Forest management and carbon captured: Analytical aspects and policy implications,.
Alen
1, 2 Berta ,
Vladimir
1 Kušan ,
Roman
3 Danko ,
Dalibor
2 Hatić ,
Oleg
1, 4 Antonić
1) Oikon ltd, Institut forApplied Ecology; 2) Pro Silva ltd, for Forest Management; 3) CO2cut ltd; 4) J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Department of biology
Thinking of the forest through the sphere of sustainable management i.e. sustainable satisfaction of the need for wood material and its role as the carbon depot, it might seem one is talking about two completely contrasting notions. And it is; need for wood ie. wood exploitation against need for carbon sequestration in forests ie. wood non-utilization. In order to maximize and balance these two needs, substantial scientific effort must be made. Here are presented selected scientific papers regarding various forest management practices and carbon sequestration. Man et all (2013) have made an assessment of sequestered carbon and its increment in different cases of even-aged management, selection management or exclusion from management in experimental forest in British Columbia, USA (cca 15000 ha). These forests are composed from Pseudotsuga menziessi, Pinus contorta, Picea glaucaxPicea engelmanii, Tuja plicata and Thuga plicata.
Bravo et all (2008) have taken and a price of sequestered tone of C into account, analyzing in simulation Scotts pine stands (mixed with Fagus silvatica, Quercus ilex and Quercus faginea) and stand of Pinus maritima in Spain. Type of management that was analyzed was clear-cut with pre-commercial thinning that has reduced number of trees to 1500-1600 per hectare. After that, low intensity thinning was simulated with rotation extended to 122 or even 149 years, depending from the site.
Powers et all (2011) have studied the influence of long term management on 2 experimental forests in Great lakes area in USA. Included forest stands were Pinus resinosa and Acer saccarum. In these stands, after 80 years ie. 50 years for Acer saccarum, multiple fields were created size going to 2 ha on whom every 5 to 10 years thinning was done to various predefined basal area.
It is very difficult to compare researches in this field because different method of carbon sequestration calculation, different environments, climate, stands, soils, tree species, etc. Although, some general guidance and conclusion can be noted, such as: •shorter rotation is preferred in some cases as regards the quantities of bound carbon through a longer period of time (few shorter rotations) •wood products from longer rotation have longer shelf life which means that carbon is bound for a longer period of time in them •with longer rotations stands are getting older and more pervious to illness and pests •decreased economic value due to older timber with decreased quality can be compensated with subsidies related to carbon sequestration and carbon accounting
LITERATURE:
Seidl et all (2008) have observed forest area in Austria were Picea abies is prevalent due to management type in near history. They have analyzed 4 simulations: -current management type: 90 year rotation, shelter-wood regeneration with one pre-commercial thinning and thinning every 20 years, -continuous cover management: thinning at 40th, 50th and 60th year, followed by a transition to a target diameter harvesting regime with harvesting intervals of approximately 10 years, -gradual conversion into mixed stand with Quercus petrea and Fagus sylvatica.
•Aspinwall, M.J., McKeand, S.E., King, J.S., 2012. Carbon sequestration from 40 years of planting genetically improved loblolly pine across the Southeast United States. Forest Science 58 (5), 446–456. •Bravo F., Bravo-Oviedo A., Diaz-Balteiro L., 2008., Carbon sequestration in Spanish Mediterranean forests under two management alternatives: a modeling approach, Eur J Forest Res (2008) 127:225–234 •Davis, L.S., Johnson, K.N., Bettinger, P., Howard, T.E., 2005. Forest Management, To Sustain Ecological, Economic, and Social Values, fourth ed. Waveland Press, Inc., Long Grove, IL. •Díaz Balteiro, Romero, C.. 2001. Forest management and carbon captured: Analytical aspects and policy implications, Investigaciones Agrarias. Sistemas y Recursos Forestales, (Monograph nº 1 ): 153-165. •Gutrich J., Howart R.B., 2007, Carbon sequestration and the optimal management of New Hampshire timber stands Ecological economics 62, 441-450 •Koch J.A., Makeschin F. 2004. Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in topsoils along forest conversion sequences in the Ore Mountains and the Saxonian lowland, Germany. European Journal of Forest Research 123: 189–201. •Man C.D., Lyons K.C., Nelson J.D., Bull G.Q.,2013. Potential of alternate forest management practices to sequester and store Carbon in two forest estates in British Columbia, Canada. Forest Ecology and Management 305 (2013) 239–247 •Powers M., Kolka R., Palik B., McDonald R., Jurgensen M., 2011 Long-term management impacts on carbon storage in Lake States forests, Forest Ecology and Management 262 (2011) 424–431 •Powers, E.M., J.D. Marshall, J. Zhang, L. Wei. 2013. Post-fire management regimes affect carbon sequestration and storage in a Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest. Forest Ecology and Management 291: 268-277. •Seely, B., Welham, C., Kimmins, H., 2002. Carbon sequestration in a boreal forest ecosystem: results from the ecosystem simulation model, FORECAST. Forest Ecology and Management 169, 123–135. •Seidl R., Rammer W., Lasch P., Badeck F.-W., Lexer M.J. 2008. Does conversion of even-aged, secondary coniferous forests affect carbon sequestration? A simulation study under changing environmental conditions. Silva Fennica 42(3): 369–386
Diaz Balteiro and Romero (2001) have considered plantation management type. They contemplated afforestation with Populus sp. in short (up to 15 years), Pinus radiatom with 35 year rotation and Pinus sylvatica with 100 year rotation. They observed costs of afforestation, maintenance and thinning, discount rate, and value of timber cut down at the and of the rotation with implementation of subsidies that EU recommends.
Other conclusion are: •increasing amount of wood mass per area unit by prolongation of rotation and decreasing management intensity (therefore increasing a ratio of deadwood in stands) can also pose serious threat in arid climates as it increases the level of fire endangerment. •exclusion of areas from management leads to the best and highest results in binding carbon, yet, it does not qualify as sustainable management if we look at sociological, economic and market component •the best results in reaching the balance are achieved by uneven-age or selection management, as with conversion of even-aged forests into unevenaged of selection management forests after a certain age. With selection management some periodic profit is achieved that is just slightly smaller regarding even-aged management, but benefit from carbon sequestration is much greater due to higher wood stock and fully used and crowded vertical stand structure.
In light of the previous statements, it is obvious there are many efficient recommendations for increasing amount of sequestered carbon in forest ecosystems which can be very effective in case of carbon offset projects. Although, in order to balance the need for wood and for carbon sequestration many ecological, economic and social factors must be considered as well as climate and environment. In addition to that, it is necessary to establish effective carbon market and subsidies system since satisfaction of increased need for carbon sequestration often means decreased economic value of timber and eventually profit.
Oikon Ltd. Institute for Applied Ecology
