Harvested Wood Products Research Articles

Carbon balance in harvested wood products in Slovakia / Bilancia uhlíka v drevných produktoch na Slovensku

Abstract The forests in Slovakia are managed according to the forest management plans. The limits for cuttings are prescribed according to the rules of sustainable forest management. Thus, the produced timber becomes the sustainable natural resource. The purpose of wood use has implications for the carbon balance. Wood products for long term use represent a carbon pool from which carbon is released according to decay of products. The method for calculation and results of carbon balance of harvested wood products in Slovakia are provided in this paper. According to the results, the total amount of carbon stored in the harvested wood products in Slovakia have had an increasing trend in the last years and reached almost 15 Tg. The calculation follows the methods and good practice guidance arising from the Kyoto Protocol.

An approach for verifying biogenic greenhouse gas emissions inventories with atmospheric CO2 concentration data

Verifying national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventories is a critical step to ensure that reported emissions data to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are accurate and representative of a country’s contribution to GHG concentrations in the atmosphere. Furthermore, verifying biogenic fluxes provides a check on estimated emissions associated with managing lands for carbon sequestration and other activities, which often have large uncertainties. We report here on the challenges and results associated with a case study using atmospheric measurements of CO2 concentrations and inverse modeling to verify nationally-reported biogenic CO2 emissions. The biogenic CO2 emissions inventory was compiled for the Mid-Continent region of United States based on methods and data used by the US government for reporting to the UNFCCC, along with additional sources and sinks to produce a full carbon balance. The biogenic emissions inventory produced an estimated flux of −408 ± 136 Tg CO2 for the entire study region, which was not statistically different from the biogenic flux of −478 ± 146 Tg CO2 that was estimated using the atmospheric CO2 concentration data. At sub-regional scales, the spatial density of atmospheric observations did not appear sufficient to verify emissions in general. However, a difference between the inventory and inversion results was found in one isolated area of West-central Wisconsin. This part of the region is dominated by forestlands, suggesting that further investigation may be warranted into the forest C stock or harvested wood product data from this portion of the study area. The results suggest that observations of atmospheric CO2 concentration data and inverse modeling could be used to verify biogenic emissions, and provide more confidence in biogenic GHG emissions reporting to the UNFCCC.

EU mitigation potential of harvested wood products.

BackgroundThe new rules for the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector under the Kyoto Protocol recognized the importance of Harvested Wood Products (HWP) in climate change mitigation. We used the Tier 2 method proposed in the 2013 IPCC KP Supplement to estimate emissions and removals from HWP from 1990 to 2030 in EU-28 countries with three future harvest scenarios (constant historical average, and +/−20% in 2030).ResultsFor the historical period (2000–2012) our results are consistent with other studies, indicating a HWP sink equal on average to −44.0 Mt CO2 yr−1 (about 10% of the sink by forest pools). Assuming a constant historical harvest scenario and future distribution of the total harvest among each commodity, the HWP sink decreases to −22.9 Mt CO2 yr−1 in 2030. The increasing and decreasing harvest scenarios produced a HWP sink of −43.2 and −9.0 Mt CO2 yr−1 in 2030, respectively. Other factors may play an important role on HWP sink, including: (i) the relative share of different wood products, and (ii) the combined effect of production, import and export on the domestic production of each commodity.ConclusionsMaintaining a constant historical harvest, the HWP sink will slowly tend to saturate, i.e. to approach zero in the long term. The current HWP sink will be maintained only by further increasing the current harvest; however, this will tend to reduce the current sink in forest biomass, at least in the short term. Overall, our results suggest that: (i) there is limited potential for additional HWP sink in the EU; (ii) the HWP mitigation potential should be analyzed in conjunction with other mitigation components (e.g. sink in forest biomass, energy and material substitution by wood).

Carbon stock in wood products: implications for carbon accounting at national and local scale in Italy

The international climate change adaptation strategies provide the opportunity to account for carbon sinks in forests through the Kyoto Protocol. Globally, forests and wood products are considered important carbon sinks. Harvested Wood Products (HWPs) are receiving growing attention, considering their potentialities to be included in national Greenhouse Gas Inventories with practical and economic implications for both carbon accounting and timber market. In Italy, understanding the contribution of HWPs to the total carbon budget may have a positive role to further improve forest management and planning approaches, as well as the timber production (i.e. wood-energy chain), specifically oriented to the climate change mitigation and ecosystem adaptation. This work aims to deeper assess the main barriers and drivers for the HWPs implementation within the carbon accounting framework in Italy. After a preliminary survey on how climate adaptation policies are currently implemented at global and national scale, this work specifically addresses the most important opportunities to include the HWPs in carbon accounting for the forestry sector at landscape scales. Finally, this work mainly outlines the following challenges for including HWPs in forest management and planning processes at local scale: (i) improving the assessment of forest carbon budget in different pools through using proper simulation tools, and environmental impact analysis; (ii) further developing robust policies and regulations that make the carbon accounting approach more explicit and economically relevant; and (iii) implementing adaptive approaches to effectively consider climate change mitigation strategies in decision-making processes at landscape scale.

Harvesting the dead and decaying forests: Potential carbon storage in harvested wood products

British Columbia (BC)'s forests and wood products industry face tremendous adversity in the face of the mountain pine beetle (MPB; Dendroctonus ponderosae) epidemic. The death and decay of one of BC's leading merchantable tree species (lodgepole pine; Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) threatens both the sustainability and climate mitigation opportunities in BC forests. Our study investigates the potential for carbon (C) storage in wood products in the post-epidemic phase of the MPB outbreak. In particular, we contrast the C-balance implications of converting MPB timber into long-lived wood products (i.e., lumber) (scenario 1) versus softwood pellets for bioenergy (scenario 2). Our findings highlight the importance of the C-cycle neutral assumption in determining the net C-balance of lumber versus pellets. Timber harvests for lumber resulted in a net C storage with this assumption (case 1), and net C emissions without this assumption (case 2). With uncertainty surrounding the future C-balance of BC forests, the current assumption of biomass-derived emissions being completely C-neutral may need to be re-evaluated.

Evaluating the impacts of a carbon tax on imported forest products—evidence from Taiwan

Levying a carbon tax is one of the approaches used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) and has been adopted in a number of countries since the Kyoto Protocol. Applying such an approach in the forest sector may have important policy implications. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of a carbon tax on imported forest products using Taiwan as an example. Taiwan relies on foreign imported timber and such consumption of harvested wood products (HWPs) lengthens the storage of carbon beyond the life of the tree. This study investigates the impacts of implementing a carbon tax on seven types of HWPs by applying the ARDL approach to imported timber demand functions in Taiwan. The empirical results show that the volumes of imported HWPs as well as carbon dioxide are significantly reduced once a carbon tax is implemented. These empirical outcomes provide some important forest policy implications for countries importing wood products.

Carbon profile of the managed forest sector in Canada in the 20th century: sink or source?

Canada contains 10% of global forests and has been one of the world's largest harvested wood products (HWP) producers. Therefore, Canada's managed forest sector, the managed forest area and HWP, has the potential to significantly increase or reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases. Using the most comprehensive carbon balance analysis to date, this study shows Canada's managed forest area and resulting HWP were a sink of 7510 and 849 teragrams carbon (TgC), respectively, in the period 1901-2010, exceeding Canada's fossil fuel-based emissions over this period (7333 TgC). If Canadian HWP were not produced and used for residential construction, and instead more energy intensive materials were used, there would have been an additional 790 TgC fossil fuel-based emissions. Because the forest carbon increases in the 20th century were mainly due to younger growing forests that resulted from disturbances in the 19th century, and future increases in forest carbon stocks appear uncertain, in coming decades most of the mitigation contribution from Canadian forests will likely accrue from wood substitution that reduces fossil fuel-based emissions and stores carbon, so long as those forests are managed sustainably.

Quantifying the biophysical climate change mitigation potential of Canada's forest sector

Abstract. The potential of forests and the forest sector to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is widely recognized, but challenging to quantify at a national scale. Forests and their carbon (C) sequestration potential are affected by management practices, where wood harvesting transfers C out of the forest into products, and subsequent regrowth allows further C sequestration. Here we determine the mitigation potential of the 2.3 × 106 km2 of Canada's managed forests from 2015 to 2050 using the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3), a harvested wood products (HWP) model that estimates emissions based on product half-life decay times, and an account of emission substitution benefits from the use of wood products and bioenergy. We examine several mitigation scenarios with different assumptions about forest management activity levels relative to a base case scenario, including improved growth from silvicultural activities, increased harvest and residue management for bioenergy, and reduced harvest for conservation. We combine forest management options with two mitigation scenarios for harvested wood product use involving an increase in either long-lived products or bioenergy uses. Results demonstrate large differences among alternative scenarios, and we identify potential mitigation scenarios with increasing benefits to the atmosphere for many decades into the future, as well as scenarios with no net benefit over many decades. The greatest mitigation impact was achieved through a mix of strategies that varied across the country and had cumulative mitigation of 254 Tg CO2e in 2030, and 1180 Tg CO2e in 2050. There was a trade-off between short-term and long-term goals, in that maximizing short-term emissions reduction could reduce the forest sector's ability to contribute to longer-term objectives. We conclude that (i) national-scale forest sector mitigation options need to be assessed rigorously from a systems perspective to avoid the development of policies that deliver no net benefits to the atmosphere, (ii) a mix of strategies implemented across the country achieves the greatest mitigation impact, and (iii) because of the time delays in achieving carbon benefits for many forest-based mitigation activities, future contributions of the forest sector to climate mitigation can be maximized if implemented soon.

Net change in carbon emissions with increased wood energy use in the United States

AbstractUse of wood biomass for energy results in carbon (C) emissions at the time of burning and alters C stocks on the land because of harvest, regrowth, and changes in land use or management. This study evaluates the potential effects of expanded woody biomass energy use (for heat and power) on net C emissions over time. A scenario with increased wood energy use is compared with a dynamic business‐as‐usual scenario where wood energy use is driven by its historical relationship with gross domestic product. At the national level, we projected that up to 78% of increased cumulative C emissions from increased wood burning and up to 80% of increased cumulative radiative forcing would be offset over 50 years by change in forest area loss, biomass regrowth on land, C storage in harvested wood products, and C in logging slash left in forests. For example, forest area is projected to decline in both scenarios, but 3.5 million hectares more are retained in the high wood energy‐use case. Projected C offsets over a 50 year period differed substantially by US region (16% in the North, 50% in the West, and 95% in the South) not only because of differences in forest regrowth and induced investment in retaining and planting forest, but also because of shifts in competitive advantage among regions in producing various wood products. If wood systems displace coal systems that have 75% of the C emissions of wood energy systems per unit energy, then the nationwide net C emissions offset would be reduced to 71–74%. If displacing natural gas systems that have 40% of the level of wood bioenergy emissions per unit energy, the nationwide net C emissions offset would be 46–52%.

Classification, Production, and Carbon Stock of Harvested Wood Products in China from 1961 to 2012

China boasts a large production, import, and export volume of harvested wood products (HWP). The production, trade volume, and carbon stock of HWP can be used as valuable reference data for the economic growth and the participation of China in climatic negotiation. This research counts the production of major Chinese HWP between 1961 and 2012 according to the HWP classification standards of the Food and Agricultural Organization. The total forestry production value of China reached RMB 3,950 billion in 2012. The total forestry production value and the HWP production of China have been rising steadily. By applying the carbon accounting model of HWP under the stock change approach, this research estimates and analyzes the carbon stock of Chinese HWP from 1961 to 2012. The development of Chinese HWP inventories within this period can be roughly divided into three phases, which show a general uptrend. In 2012, the total carbon stock of Chinese HWP reached 888.01 million tons, whereas the annual increment of Chinese HWP reached 50.78 million tons. Therefore, HWP significantly contributes to the positive growth of Chinese carbon stock.

A study on effect of carbon dioxide emission reduction through use of harvested wood products counteracting deforestation

A study on effect of carbon dioxide emission reduction through use of harvested wood products counteracting deforestation

국산 목질판상재의 반감기 결정방법에 관한 연구

수확된 목제품(Harvested Wood Products, HWP)이란 제재목, 합판, 파티클보드 또는 목구조재, 건축내장재, 가구, 종이제품 등과 같이 나무를 원료로 사용하여 가공한 제품을 말한다. HWP는 수명을 다하여 폐기될 때까지 산림에서 생장하면서 저장했던 탄소를 장기간 제품 내에 저장하고 있기 때문에 대기 중의 이산화탄소 농도를 안정화시키는 효과를 발휘한다. 이러한 이유로, 탄소계정 시 목제품의 탄소저장효과를 인정해야 한다는 의견들이 지속적으로 제기되어왔다. 2011년 11월 더반에서 열린 17차 기후변화협약 당사국총회(COP)에서는 자국산 목재 만을 대상으로 하는 생산접근법을 HWP의 탄소계정방법으로 결정하였다. 이에 본 연구는 향후 국가 간 논의 및 협상에 대응하고자 국산 HWP 탄소계정에 필요한 인자인 반감기를 결정하기 위하여, 외국의 반감기 결정사례를 조사하고 국산 HWP 반감기 결정을위해 필요한 요소를 분석하였다.

Climate Change Impacts Due to Biogenic Carbon: Addressing the Issue of Attribution Using Two Metrics With Very Different Outcomes

Although not without its critics, considerable recognition has been given to the climate cooling benefits provided by storing carbon from biomass in various storage pools. However, it has recently been found that depending on the storage pool/period and source of biomass, the associated climate impacts may be a burden or a benefit. It is important that carbon accounting schemes and life cycle assessment practitioners take these carbon/CO2 flux dynamics and the climate impacts that they create into consideration. In this work we illustrate these climate impacts with a Norwegian case study using a material flow analysis of the biogenic carbon in harvested wood products derived from a 2006 harvest year. We illustrate the dynamic carbon balance over time and show how the climate impacts can diverge greatly between two well-known climate impact metrics: global warming potential (GWP) and global temperature potential (GTP). We also show how these climate impacts can be attributed to contributing parties with an example of a glue laminated beam value chain which is stored in a long-lived building. We discuss the associated attribution issues that will inevitably arise and we offer recommendations on how best to minimize them.

Cumulative Carbon Fluxes Due to Selective Logging in Southeast Asia

Selective logging creates a large amount of wood residues in forests in addition to producing a small amount of sawnwood for use as source of construction materials. Although accounting for carbon fluxes in harvested wood products (HWPs) becomes necessary in the fight against climate change, previous studies focused mainly on carbon fluxes in HWPs in temperate and boreal forests. This report attempts to analyze carbon fluxes in various wood components created by selective logging in production forest in Southeast Asia during a hypothetical period of carbon project implementation between 2015 and 2050 under conventional (CVL) and reduced-impact logging (RIL). Study results suggest that CVL produced about 146.6 (±5.4) million m3 annually. Logging created annual carbon fluxes of about 0.23, 0.23, 0.20, 0.69, and 0.15 MgC ha-1·year-1 in sawnwood, wood wastes at sawmills (SWW), wood product wastes due to logging damages remained in the forests (WPW), branches and top logs (BRA), and belowground dead root (BLD), respectively. Cumulative carbon fluxes were estimated at 281.0, 506.6, and 87.4 TgC year-1 in sawnwood, onsite (WPW, BRA, BLD), and offsite (SWW) pools, respectively. Except in SW, cumulative carbon fluxes in onsite and offsite pools showed a decline trend in about 10 years after logging. Switching from CVL to RIL could increase fluxes in sawnwood 60% higher than that under CVL, while reducing fluxes in short-lived onsite and offsite wood residues. Not only RIL can increase carbon fluxes in sawnwood, it can also increase production of sawnwood and retain more carbon in standing forests.

Canadian boreal forests and climate change mitigation

Quantitative assessment of Canada’s boreal forest mitigation potential is not yet possible, though the range of mitigation activities is known, requirements for sound analyses of options are increasingly understood, and there is emerging recognition that biogeophysical effects need greater attention. Use of a systems perspective highlights trade-offs between activities aimed at increasing carbon storage in the ecosystem, increasing carbon storage in harvested wood products (HWPs), or increasing the substitution benefits of using wood in place of fossil fuels or more emissions-intensive products. A systems perspective also suggests that erroneous conclusions about mitigation potential could result if analyses assume that HWP carbon is emitted at harvest, or bioenergy is carbon neutral. The greatest short-run boreal mitigation benefit generally would be achieved by avoiding greenhouse gas emissions; but over the longer run, there could be significant potential in activities that increase carbon removals. Mitigation activities could maximize landscape carbon uptake or maximize landscape carbon density, but not both simultaneously. The difference between the two is the rate at which HWPs are produced to meet society’s demands, and mitigation activities could seek to delay or reduce HWP emissions and increase substitution benefits. Use of forest biomass for bioenergy could also contribute though the point in time at which this produces a net mitigation benefit relative to a fossil fuel alternative will be situation-specific. Key knowledge gaps exist in understanding boreal mitigation strategies that are robust to climate change and how mitigation could be integrated with adaptation to climate change.

Carbon balance assessments of harvested wood products in Japan taking account of inter-regional flows

We constructed a model to assess the carbon balance of harvested wood products (HWP) used for building, furniture, paper/paperboard and energy, taking into account flows of wood between regions of Japan. We projected the carbon balance in each region until 2050 under two future scenarios, a BAU (business as usual) scenario and a wood use promotion scenario. We found the carbon stock in domestic harvested wood products became a carbon emission source, with Central Japan becoming the largest emission source, after 2020 in the BAU scenario but continued to function as a carbon sink in every region over the whole period in the wood promotion scenario. Therefore, unless future supply and demand amounts of domestic wood are increased by factors such as policies promoting the use of wood, the carbon stock of domestic wood may become an emission source rather than a sink. By promoting the use of domestic wood, the carbon stock acts as a carbon sink in every region. Carbon emissions from fossil fuel consumption with respect to HWP in the whole of Japan fell to 72% of the 2004 value in 2050 in the BAU scenario, but rose to 112% in the wood promotion scenario. Emissions from wood transport were greatest in Central Japan, emissions from sawn wood processing were highest in West Japan, and emissions from plywood processing and woodchip processing were greatest in East Japan. In carbon balances that included the annual changes in the carbon stock amounts of domestic harvested wood, only Central Japan in the wood promotion scenario had carbon removals greater than its carbon emissions from fossil fuel consumption in the years 2005–2045. In addition, when considering reductions in carbon emissions by substitution of fossil fuels with wood residues and waste wood in the carbon balances, the sum of the removals from carbon stock changes and the reductions of carbon emissions were greater than the carbon emissions associated with HWP over the entire period in all three regions in both scenarios.

Forest production predicted from satellite image analysis for the Southeast Asia region

BackgroundThe objective of this study was to demonstrate a new, cost-effective method to define the sustainable amounts of harvested wood products in Southeast Asian countries case studies, while avoiding degradation (net loss) of total wood carbon stocks. Satellite remote sensing from the MODIS sensor was used in the CASA (Carnegie Ames Stanford Approach) carbon cycle model to map forest production for the Southeast Asia region from 2000 to 2010. These CASA model results have been designed to be spatially detailed enough to support carbon cycle assessments in different wooded land cover classes, e.g., open woodlands, wetlands, and forest areas.ResultsThe country with the highest average forest net primary production (NPP greater than 950 g C m-2 yr-1) over the period was the Philippines, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia. Myanmar and Vietnam had the lowest average forest NPP among the region’s countries at less than 815 g C m-2 yr-1. Case studies from throughout the Southeast Asia region for the maximum harvested wood products amount that could be sustainably extracted per year were generated using the CASA model NPP predictions.ConclusionsThe method of using CASA model’s estimated annual change in forest carbon on a yearly basis can conservatively define the upper limit for the amount of harvested wood products that can be removed and still avoid degradation (net loss) of the total wood carbon stock over that same time period.

Effects of harvesting on spatial and temporal diversity of carbon stocks in a boreal forest landscape

Carbon stocks in managed forests of Ontario, Canada, and in harvested wood products originated from these forests were estimated for 2010–2100. Simulations included four future forest harvesting scenarios based on historical harvesting levels (low, average, high, and maximum available) and a no-harvest scenario. In four harvesting scenarios, forest carbon stocks in Ontario's managed forest were estimated to range from 6202 to 6227 Mt C (millions of tons of carbon) in 2010, and from 6121 to 6428 Mt C by 2100. Inclusion of carbon stored in harvested wood products in use and in landfills changed the projected range in 2100 to 6710–6742 Mt C. For the no-harvest scenario, forest carbon stocks were projected to change from 6246 Mt C in 2010 to 6680 Mt C in 2100. Spatial variation in projected forest carbon stocks was strongly related to changes in forest age (r = 0.603), but had weak correlation with harvesting rates. For all managed forests in Ontario combined, projected carbon stocks in combined forest and harvested wood products converged to within 2% difference by 2100. The results suggest that harvesting in the boreal forest, if applied within limits of sustainable forest management, will eventually have a relatively small effect on long-term combined forest and wood products carbon stocks. However, there was a large time lag to approach carbon equality, with more than 90 years with a net reduction in stored carbon in harvested forests plus wood products compared to nonharvested boreal forest which also has low rates of natural disturbance. The eventual near equivalency of carbon stocks in nonharvested forest and forest that is harvested and protected from natural disturbance reflects both the accumulation of carbon in harvested wood products and the relatively young age at which boreal forest stands undergo natural succession in the absence of disturbance.

Future change in carbon in harvested wood products from Irish forests established prior to 1990

Background: The Kyoto Protocol allows carbon in forests to contribute to emission-reduction targets. This has been extended to include carbon in harvested wood products (HWP). A projected baseline approach is proposed to identify business as usual and incentivize activities that reduce emissions or increase removals relative to reference level. In this article, we describe methods to calculate the projected reference level. Results: Wood product categories were derived using a top-down approach based on timber harvest data and sawmill statistics. The average of the overall projected forest management reference level for 2013–2020 was -206.81 Gg CO2-e including HWP and -72.72 Gg CO2-e excluding carbon stock change in HWP. Conclusion: These results highlight the potential of HWP to contribute to GHG mitigation strategies.

Can payments solve the problem of undersupply of ecosystem services?

Profits from forest management generally originate from harvested wood products or hunting leases. Other joint services such as biodiversity protection or landscape beauty are rarely paid for and are insufficiently provided. Payment schemes are designed to reduce this undersupply. In this paper, we analyze how paying for the additional provision of some services might affect the production of joint services. Payments should at least compensate for the loss of revenue resulting from providing more services. These opportunity costs can be estimated using a production possibility frontier in which the maximum profit from currently marketed outputs is a function of the externalities. We show that payment for a single service can threaten other services if there are diseconomies of scope. If at least two services are considered, then payments can either be made independently for each of them (stacking) or simultaneously in a bundle. In the case of bundling, the minimum payment amount corresponds the total opportunity cost whatever the interactions between services. In the case of stacking, if there are diseconomies of scope and if the amount paid for increasing each service equals the individual opportunity cost, then the total payment would not compensate for the total cost. Some services might remain undersupplied. On the contrary, if there are economies of scope then the total stacked amount will be greater than the total opportunity cost. Hence, it is critical to analyze interactions between ecosystem services because they are likely to change the profitability or the opportunity costs related to increasing the production of the ecosystem services and so the schemes of payments.