Expansion Of Forest Plantations Research Articles

Technological potential of fibers from 20 Hevea brasiliensis clones for use as pulp, paper, and composite materials

Based on the use of Hevea brasiliensis in latex production, the species has a consolidated role in the Brazilian economy. However, at the end of the production cycle, which lasts from 25 to 30 years, resulting wood, in general, has no added value and is normally used for firewood, without further exploring its technological properties. Seeking to introduce this species into the pulp and paper industry, we aimed to determine the fiber quality of 20 commercial clones. Wood samples were collected from planted trees (11 to 12 years old) in the municipality of Selvíria - MS. We calculated wood quality indexes of H. brasiliensis for cellulose and paper, including Flexibility coefficient, Wall proportion, Runkel ratio, Slenderness ratio (Aspect ratio), and Luce's Shape Factor. The fiber quality indexes that best indicate the potential use of wood from Hevea brasiliensis clones for cellulose and paper production were Wall Fraction, Runkel Ratio and Luce's Shape Factor, indicating that H. brasiliensis fibers, if used for proper industrial purposes, will give origin of a rigid paper with greater bonding contact on the surface. The clones that presented better results for fiber quality indexes were IAC 311, IAC 41, IAN 873, IAC 326, IAC 40 and RRIM 725. Enabling the use of wood after the latex exploratory cycle for pulp and paper will serve as a basis for genetic improvement of these clones and expansion of forest plantations for this purpose.

Production and quality of eucalyptus mini-cuttings using kaolin-based particle films

Considering the expansion of forest plantations over the Brazilian territory and the imminent increase in air temperatures due to global warming, the search for technologies that ensure high levels of productivity and high quality plants in clonal nurseries is essential. Applying kaolin-based particle films (KBPF) has been used as a physical barrier to reduce the negative effects of excessive solar radiation and adverse temperatures. The effects of KBPF on production and physiological quality of eucalyptus mini-cuttings were evaluated during two different seasons. A randomized block design was used, consisting of five treatments and four replications. Five concentrations (0, 3%, 5%, 7%, and 10%) were tested here and six weekly replicates of each concentration was applied. The different kaolin concentrations and seasonal variations resulted in a quadratic response of the leaf SPAD reading during both daily evaluation periods. KBPF applications resulted in a quadratic response of photochemical efficiency in the morning period, and an increasing specific leaf weight linear response, and during the dry season, the different kaolin concentrations resulted in a bud length quadratic response. The results indicated that the kaolin application maintained the production and yield index statistically equal between weekly KBPF applications, improving photochemical efficiency, leaf thickness, SPAD reading, and bud length. The use of KBPF could reduce the intervals between collections of mini-cuttings and increase nursery yields in environments that present high temperatures.

Global warming implications from increased forest biomass utilization for bioenergy in a supply-constrained context

This article analyzes different forest management strategies to meet the increasing demand of biomass for bioenergy and assesses the resulting global warming implications. Applied to maritime pine forest plantations in Portugal, the assessed strategies are: full harvest of residues (FULL); sustainable and proactive management (SMART); expansion of forest plantations on abandoned farmland (EXP); and biomass import (IMP). A dynamic CO2 inventory was obtained for each scenario using a parametric stand-level C-flux model adapted to Portuguese conditions, which was then extended to the landscape-level and coupled to a dynamic climate model. The time-adjusted absolute global warming potential (AGWP) was then calculated at both stand and landscape levels, considering the timing of all CO2 emissions and uptakes (both fossil and biogenic). To test the robustness of the findings, a sensitivity analysis was performed. Results show that, in a supply-constrained context like Portugal, SMART and EXP management strategies can provide important global warming mitigation benefits (GWPbio < 0), although their supply-response is slow (long-term strategies). On the other hand, FULL and IMP management strategies show moderate to null AGWP reduction potential (0 < GWPbio < 1), while involving other possible risks (e.g., exacerbated soil erosion, nutrient depletion or uncertain impacts abroad), but their supply-response is fast (short-term strategies). National forest regulations and energy policies should be revised to address the drawbacks related to all management strategies and to unleash the multiple environmental benefits they can provide in the short- and long-term.

Pine plantations and five decades of land use change in central Chile.

The expansion of forest plantations is cause for concern because of their environmental effects, and the loss of native forests and agricultural land. Our goal was to quantify the increase in pine plantation, and concomitant loss of native forests, in central Chile since ca. 1960, and to identify in which settings native forests were lost most rapidly. We analyzed aerial photographs from 1955 and 1961, Landsat images from 1975 and 1998, and Google Earth high-resolution satellite images from 2014. To ensure high classification accuracy, we visually interpreted images for a systematic 3-km grid and assigned each point as either ‘pine plantation’, ‘native forest’, ‘agricultural-livestock lands’, or ‘other’. We also calculated latitude, longitude, slope, Euclidean distance to the nearest road and to the nearest pulp mill, and the frequency of land use surrounding each point as potential variables to explain observed land use changes. Pine plantations expansion started even before 1960, when 12% of all points were already pine plantations, was particularly rapid from 1975 (18% of sample points) to 1998 (38%), and stabilized thereafter (37% by 2014). From 1975 to 1998 alone, 40% of native forests were replaced by pine plantations, and agricultural-livestock lands declined by 0.7%, 0.9%, 1% per year before 1975, from 1975 to 1998, and after 1998 respectively. Native forests that were surrounded by pine plantations, were most likely to be converted to plantations, and from 1960 to 1975, also native forests near pulp mills. The probability of change from agricultural-livestock lands to pine plantations was mainly influenced by slope, with most agricultural-livestock lands remaining in areas with low slopes.

Plantaciones forestales y su extensión hacia áreas urbanas en el área metropolitana de Valparaíso y su relación con el aumento de incendios forestales

A partir de la década de los 70 en Chile central, la expansión de las plantaciones forestales ha sido una de las principales causas de la modificación del paisaje, siendo influenciada por los cambios de cobertura de la superficie terrestre. Considerando el contexto nacional de los incendios forestales que ocurrieron durante el verano de 2017, existe una opinión generalizada que la ocurrencia de estos eventos está relacionada con la proximidad y el acercamiento de las plantaciones a las áreas urbanas, especialmente en el Área Metropolitana de Valparaíso (AMV). Desde esta perspectiva se analizó la disminución dela distancia entre la expansión de las plantaciones forestales y la expansión del suelo&#x0D; urbano en el AMV utilizando una clasificación supervisada de imágenes Landsat para los años 1989 y 2015. Adicionalmente se realiza un análisis sobre el grado de severidad de los incendios y se calculan métricas del paisaje por medio del programa FRAGSTATS. Los principales resultados muestran un aumento de superficie para las plantaciones forestales para el año 2015, duplicando su tamaño con respecto al 1989. A partir de las métricas estudiadas se observó una mayor heterogeneidad en el paisaje. Con respecto al índice de severidad se observa un mayor grado en plantaciones forestales con respecto a otras coberturas como agricultura o matorral espinoso.

A plantation-dominated forest transition in Chile

As one of the few countries in Latin America to have reversed persistent losses in tree cover, Chile may hold important insights for forest transition theory. However, existing studies have not provided methodologically consistent analyses at sufficient temporal and spatial scales to properly assess the state of Chile's forest transition. In the current study, we generate high-resolution maps of Chilean land use change between 1986, 2001 and 2011. We couple remote sensing with a review of historic assessments of Chile's forest resources to document long-term trends in forest extent. This historical review identifies multiple discrete forest transitions throughout Chile's history. These fluctuations in forest clearing emphasize that the cultural, economic and political forces that precipitate forest transitions can all be reversed. The remote sensing analysis calls into question official statistics indicating an expansion of native forests between 1986 and 2011. We find that increases in forest cover were largely driven by the expansion of forest plantations, rather than through native forest regeneration. Plantation forests directly displaced native forests in many locations, especially during the 1986–2001 period. Nevertheless, declines in the rate of forest conversion during the 2001–2011 period suggest that plantations are beginning to ease pressure on native forests.

Carbon mitigation potential of different forest ecosystems under climate change and various managements in italy

This study reviews carbon stocks and carbon dynamics in different types of forest land in Italy: ordinary managed forests, forest plantations, old growth forests, and trees outside forests. Forest management, combined with global environmental changes, increases the capacity of carbon uptake of ordinary managed forests. Forest plantations, particularly the ones subject to short‐rotation forestry systems, potentially have high soil carbon accumulation, especially in agricultural lands. Old growth forests, recently discovered as a carbon sink, cover a significant surface area in Italy. Moreover, the trees outside forests may represent a sensible carbon stock, especially in the context of urban environments. Our study points out the management actions that can be implemented in Italy to increase the carbon stocks of different forest ecosystems, such as increasing the mean annual increment in managed forests, enhancement of the national network of old growth forests, and expansion of forest plantations in suitable areas. These aspects have important implications after the recent recognition of the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector in the EU target within the 2030 Climate and Energy Policy Framework.

Trade Liberalization and Land Use Changes: Explaining the Expansion of Afforested Land in Chile

Abstract Trade policy reforms are expected to affect land use patterns in developing countries. Most of the research has focused on explaining deforestation or the economic and environmental consequences of plantation subsidies. This article examines the change in economic incentives resulting from trade reforms implemented in Chile since the mid-1970s for land conversion to forest plantations. The removal of the log export ban and the general import duties reduction affected forestry and land-competing agriculture both directly and indirectly through the depreciation of the real exchange rate. Counterfactual roundwood relative prices were obtained by estimating a generalized Leontief demand function for the domestic processing industry, and the “omega” coefficient used in the analysis of agricultural trade reforms. The effects on the economic incentives for land conversion were measured as the land rent changes under forestry and under competing agricultural use that resulted from counterfactual policy scenarios. The results show the critical role of trade liberalization policies in creating the necessary economic incentives for the private participation in the expansion of forest plantations in Chile. The direct effect from the removal of the log export ban was estimated to be larger than the indirect effect of the general import duty reductions.

Potential and Cost of Carbon Sequestration in the Tanzanian Forest Sector

The forest sector in Tanzania offers ample opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and sequester carbon (C) in terrestrial ecosystems. More than 90% of the country's demand for primary energy is obtained from biomass mostly procured unsustainably from natural forests. This study examines the potential to sequester C through expansion of forest plantations aimed at reducing the dependence on natural forest for wood fuel production, as well as increase the country's output of industrial wood from plantations. These were compared ton conservationoptions in the tropical and miombo ecosystems. Three sequestrationoptions were analyzed, involving the establishment of short rotation and long rotation plantations on about 1.7 × 106 hectares. The short rotation community forestry option has a potential to sequester an equilibrium amount of 197.4 × 106 Mg C by 2024 at a net benefit of 79.5 × 106, while yielding a NPV of 0.46 Mg-1 C. The long rotation options for softwood and hardwood plantations will reach an equilibrium sequestration of 5.6 and 11.8 × 106 Mg C at a negative NPV of 0.60 Mg-1 C and 0.32 Mg-1 C. The three options provide cost competitive opportunities for sequestering about 7.5 × 106 Mg C yr-1 while providing desired forest products and easing the pressure on the natural forests in Tanzania. The endowment costs of the sequestration options were all found to be cheaper than the emission avoidance cost for conservation options which had an average cost of 1.27 Mg-1 C, rising to 7.5 Mg-1 C under some assumptions on vulnerability to encroachment. The estimates shown here may represent the upper bound, because the actual potential will be influenced by market prices for inputs and forest products, land use policy constraints and the structure of global C transactions.

Forestry Mitigation Potential and Costs in Developing Countries Preface

The forest sector in Tanzania offers ample opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and sequestered carbon (C) in terrestrial ecosystems. More than 90% of the country's demand for primary energy is obtained from biomass mostly procured unsustainably from natural forests. This study examines the potential to sequester C through expansion of forest plantations aimed at reducing the dependence on natural forest for wood fuel production, as well as increase the country's output of industrial wood from plantations. These were compared ton conservation options in the tropical and miombo ecosystems. Three sequestration options were analyzed, involving the establishment of short rotation and long rotation plantations on about 1.7 x 106 hectares. The short rotation community forest option has a potential to sequester an equilibrium amount of 197.4 x 106 Mg C by 2024 at a net benefit of $79.5 x 106, while yielding a NPV of $0.46 Mg-1 C. The long rotation options for softwood and hardwood plantations will reach an equilibrium sequestration of 5.6 and 11.8 x 106 Mg C at a negative NPV of $0.60 Mg-1 C and $0.32 Mg-1 C. The three options provide cost competitive opportunities for sequestering about 7.5 x 106 Mg C yr -1more » while providing desired forest products and easing the pressure on the natural forests in Tanzania. The endowment costs of the sequestration options were all found to be cheaper than the emission avoidance cost for conservation options which had an average cost of $1.27 Mg-1 C, rising to $7.5 Mg-1 C under some assumptions on vulnerability to encroachment. The estimates shown here may represent the upper bound, because the actual potential will be influenced by market prices for inputs and forest products, land use policy constraints and the structure of global C transactions.« less

Predicting the natural occurrence of blackbutt and Gympie messmate in southeast Queensland

Summary Australian State and Commonwealth Governments are committed to a rapid expansion of forest plantations through the 2020 Vision and post-Regional Forest Agreement industry development packages. Part of this expansion is expected to be met by an increased uptake of farm forestry. However, lack of reliable information about the plantation capability of native Australian hardwoods and a suitable framework for delivering such advice are some of the impediments to widespread uptake of farm forestry options. While many native tree species have potential for use in plantations, it maybe decades before selection trials deliver consistent advice about their capability and site suitability. It is therefore important to use all available sources of information and tools to help alleviate the knowledge gap. This paper describes an application of generalised linear modelling for predicting the natural occurrence and performance of commercial tree species in native forest, as a source of background information for evaluating plantation potential. A comprehensive agency dataset for the distribution of commercial hardwoods in southeast Queensland native forests is used to derive logistic regression models and ecological response functions for the relationship with key environmental factors (water, temperature, nutrients, light). The resulting spatial predictions and indicative responses will be used to develop our understanding of likely performance in plantations. Case studies for two species blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis) and Gympie messmate (E. cloeziana) are presented.