Abstract
SUMMARY: Recently, the key role played by woody debris within the ecological dynamics of forest ecosystems has been acknowledged; however, its contribution as a source of woodfuel has barely been studied, despite being the most important energy resource for one-third of world population. Over decades, the widely held belief that woodfuel exclusively comes from woody living biomass has labelled woodfuel collection as a driver of tropical deforestation. The poor understanding about gathering ways of this resource in the rural developing world has hidden the fact that it is mainly sourced from woody necromass, of which their stocks and productivity may be estimated at 35 Pg and 6.5 Pg year-1 in tropical forests, respectively. Whether necromass productivity of both geographically accessible tropical forest for rural communities and other types of woody vegetation is taken into account together, a potential supply of 2.19 Pg year-1 could be estimated, which would meet by far, the projected global rural woodfuel demand. It concludes that household-oriented woodfuel collection is far from being a driver of deforestation; instead, this latter might jeopardize access to this energy source. This paper tries to provide a new insight about the relationship between rural energy security and forest-based ecosystem services and their repercussions on climate change.
Highlights
Forest ecosystems provide several goods and services, from which woodfuel supply is the most important for one–third of the world population relying on traditional biomass for meeting their needs for cooking and heating.The widespread belief about household-oriented woodfuel collection as a driver of tropical deforestation has been held for decades (Eckholm 1975)
Data collected by several surveys show woody debris stocks may account for 1 – 27 % of total forest biomass in undisturbed forests and more than 70 % in heavy-logged forests (Palace et al 2012, Pfeifer et al 2015)
Since woodfuel sourced from woody debris stocks does not mean the removal of living woody biomass, why should rural household-oriented woodfuel consumption be considered as a driver of deforestation? In addition, if the most fuelwood for cooking is sourced from woody debris stocks, what is the real impact of measures intended to decrease woodfuel consumption as a strategy for reducing greenhouse gases emissions? In brief, the link between rural energy security and forest ecosystems will be analyzed in this article to get a better understanding about their effects on forest carbon dynamics and their environmental implications
Summary
The key role played by woody debris within the ecological dynamics of forest ecosystems has been acknowledged; its contribution as a source of woodfuel has barely been studied, despite being the most important energy resource for one-third of world population. Whether necromass productivity of both geographically accessible tropical forest for rural communities and other types of woody vegetation is taken into account together, a potential supply of 2.19 Pg year-1 could be estimated, which would meet by far, the projected global rural woodfuel demand. It concludes that household-oriented woodfuel collection is far from being a driver of deforestation; instead, this latter might jeopardize access to this energy source.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
