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- Akselsson, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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A Combined Measurement and Modelling Approach to Assess the Sustainability of Whole-Tree Harvesting—A Swedish Case Study
- 2021
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Ingår i: Sustainability. - : MDPI AG. - 2071-1050. ; 13:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The demand of renewable energy has increased the interest in whole-tree harvesting. The sustainability of whole-tree harvesting after clear-cutting, from an acidification point of view, depends on two factors: the present acidification status and the further loss of buffering capacity at harvesting. The aims of this study were to investigate the relationship between these two factors at 26 sites along an acidification gradient in Sweden, to divide the sites into risk classes, and to examine the geographical distribution of them in order to provide policy-relevant insights. The present status was represented by the acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) in soil solution, and the loss of buffering capacity was represented by the estimated exceedance of critical biomass harvesting (CBH). The sites were divided into three risk classes combining ANC and exceedance of CBH. ANC and exceedance of CBH were negatively correlated, and most sites had either ANC < 0 and exceedance (high risk) or ANC > 0 and no exceedance (low risk). There was a geographical pattern, with the high risk class concentrated to southern Sweden, which was mainly explained by higher historical sulfur deposition and site productivity in the south. The risk classes can be used in the formulation of policies on whole-tree harvesting and wood ash recycling.
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| 4. |
- Akselsson, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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Assessing the risk of N leaching from forest soils across a steep N deposition gradient in Sweden.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0269-7491 .- 1873-6424. ; 158:12, s. 3588-3595
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nitrogen leaching from boreal and temporal forests, where normally most of the nitrogen is retained, has the potential to increase acidification of soil and water and eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. In parts of Sweden, where the nitrogen deposition has been intermediate to high during recent decades, there are indications that the soils are close to nitrogen saturation. In this study, four different approaches were used to assess the risk of nitrogen leaching from forest soils in different parts of Sweden. Nitrate concentrations in soil water and C:N ratios in the humus layer where interpreted, together with model results from mass balance calculations and detailed dynamic modelling. All four approaches pointed at a risk of nitrogen leaching from forest soils in southern Sweden. However, there was a substantial variation on a local scale. Basing the assessment on four different approaches makes the assessment robust.
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- Akselsson, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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Can increased weathering rates due to future warming compensate for base cation losses following whole-tree harvesting in spruce forests?
- 2016
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Ingår i: Biogeochemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0168-2563 .- 1573-515X. ; 128:1-2, s. 89-105
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Whole-tree harvesting, i.e. harvesting of stems, branches and tops, has become increasingly common during recent decades due to the increased demand for renewable energy. Whole-tree harvesting leads to an increase in base cation losses from the ecosystem, which can counteract recovery from acidification. An increase in weathering rates due to higher temperatures is sometimes suggested as a process that may counteract the acidifying effect of whole-tree harvesting. In this study the potential effect of increasing temperature on weathering rates was compared with the increase in base cation losses following whole-tree harvesting in spruce forests, along a temperature gradient in Sweden. The mechanistic model PROFILE was used to estimate weathering rates at National Forest Inventory sites at today’s temperature and the temperature in 2050, as estimated by two different climate projections. The same dataset was used to calculate base cation losses following stem-only and whole-tree harvesting. The calculations showed that the increase in temperature until 2050 would result in an increase in the base cation weathering rate of 20–33 %, and that whole-tree harvesting would lead to an increase in base cation losses of 66 % on average, compared to stem-only harvesting. A sensitivity analysis showed that moisture changes are important for future weathering rates, but the effect of the temperature change was dominating even when the most extreme moisture changes were applied. It was concluded that an increase in weathering rates resulting from higher temperatures would not compensate for the increase in base cation losses following whole-tree harvesting, except in the northernmost part of Sweden.
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| 6. |
- Akselsson, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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Critical biomass harvesting - Applying a new concept for Swedish forest soils
- 2018
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Ingår i: Forest Ecology and Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-1127 .- 1872-7042. ; 409, s. 67-73
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The contribution of forest harvesting to base cation losses and soil acidification has increased in recent years in Sweden, as the demand for bioenergy has increased and the sulphur deposition has decreased. Thus, new policy tools are required to evaluate the progress of the recovery from acidification, and as a basis for forest management recommendations. In this study we introduce and test a concept, Critical biomass harvesting. The concept builds on the concept Critical loads, which has been used world-wide for several decades as a bridge between science and policies related to transboundary air pollution and acidification. The basis for the concept is an acidity mass balance, with sources and sinks of acidity. A critical limit defines the highest acceptable acidification status of the water leaving the root zone. Based on the critical limit, the highest allowed biomass harvesting can be calculated, keeping the other parameters constant. In this study the critical limit was set to ANC (Acid Neutralizing Capacity) = 0. Nitrogen was assumed to be affecting acidity only if it leaches from the root zone. The critical biomass harvesting was calculated for almost 12000 National Forest Inventory sites with spruce and pine forest, using the best available data on deposition, weathering and nitrogen leaching. The exceedance of critical biomass harvesting was calculated as the difference between the estimated harvest losses and the critical biomass harvesting. The results were presented as median values in merged catchments in a catchment database, with totally 2079 merged catchments in Sweden. According to the calculations, critical biomass harvesting was exceeded in the southern half of Sweden already at stem harvesting in spruce forests. Whole-tree harvesting expanded the exceedance area, and increased the exceedance levels in southern Sweden. The exceedance in pine forest was lower and affected smaller areas. It was concluded that the concept of critical biomass harvesting can be successfully applied on the same database that has been used for critical load calculations in Sweden, using basically the same approach as has been extensively applied, evaluated and discussed in a critical load context. The results from the calculations in Sweden indicate that whole-tree harvesting, without wood ash recycling, can be expected to further slow down recovery, especially in the most acidified parts of the country, in the southwest.
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| 8. |
- Akselsson, Cecilia, et al.
(författare)
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Weathering rates in Swedish forest soils
- 2019
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Ingår i: Biogeosciences. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1726-4170 .- 1726-4189. ; 16:22, s. 4429-4450
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Soil and water acidification was internationally recognised as a severe environmental problem in the late 1960s. The interest in establishing “critical loads” led to a peak in weathering research in the 1980s and 1990s, since base cation weathering is the long-term counterbalance to acidification pressure. Assessments of weathering rates and associated uncertainties have recently become an area of renewed research interest, this time due to demand for forest residues to provide renewable bioenergy. Increased demand for forest fuels increases the risk of depleting the soils of base cations produced in situ by weathering. This is the background to the research programme Quantifying Weathering Rates for Sustainable Forestry (QWARTS), which ran from 2012 to 2019. The programme involved research groups working at different scales, from laboratory experiments to modelling. The aims of this study were to (1) investigate the variation in published weathering rates of base cations from different approaches in Sweden, with consideration of the key uncertainties for each method; (2) assess the robustness of the results in relation to sustainable forestry; and (3) discuss the results in relation to new insights from the QWARTS programme and propose ways to further reduce uncertainties. In the study we found that the variation in estimated weathering rates at single-site level was large, but still most sites could be placed reliably in broader classes of weathering rates. At the regional level, the results from the different approaches were in general agreement. Comparisons with base cation losses after stem-only and whole-tree harvesting showed sites where whole-tree harvesting was clearly not sustainable and other sites where variation in weathering rates from different approaches obscured the overall balance. Clear imbalances appeared mainly after whole-tree harvesting in spruce forests in southern and central Sweden. Based on the research findings in the QWARTS programme, it was concluded that the PROFILE/ForSAFE family of models provides the most important fundamental understanding of the contribution of weathering to long-term availability of base cations to support forest growth. However, these approaches should be continually assessed against other approaches. Uncertainties in the model approaches can be further reduced, mainly by finding ways to reduce uncertainties in input data on soil texture and associated hydrological parameters but also by developing the models, e.g. to better represent biological feedbacks under the influence of climate change.
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| 9. |
- Belyazid, Salim, et al.
(författare)
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A dynamic modelling approach for estimating critical loads of nitrogen based on pliant community changes under a changing climate
- 2011
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Ingår i: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0269-7491. ; 159:3, s. 789-801
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A dynamic model of forest ecosystems was used to investigate the effects of climate change, atmospheric deposition and harvest intensity on 48 forest sites in Sweden (n = 16) and Switzerland (n = 32). The model was used to investigate the feasibility of deriving critical loads for nitrogen (N) deposition based on changes in plant community composition. The simulations show that climate and atmospheric deposition have comparably important effects on N mobilization in the soil, as climate triggers the release of organically bound nitrogen stored in the soil during the elevated deposition period. Climate has the most important effect on plant community composition, underlining the fact that this cannot be ignored in future simulations of vegetation dynamics. Harvest intensity has comparatively little effect on the plant community in the long term, while it may be detrimental in the short term following cutting. This study shows: that critical loads of N deposition can be estimated using the plant community as an indicator; that future climatic changes must be taken into account; and that the definition of the reference deposition is critical for the outcome of this estimate. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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| 10. |
- Belyazid, Salim, et al.
(författare)
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A Sustainability Assessment of the Urban Rehabilitation Project of the Medina of Fez, Morocco
- 2003
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 21st International Conference of the System Dynamics Society. - 9780967291482
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The old city of Fez, Morocco, classified as Heritage of Humankind by the UNESCO, is subject to an integrated rehabilitation plan running over 15 years. The plan aims at restoring and preserving the economy, cultural value, and social heritage of the old city. The study follows a system dynamics approach to describe and analyze the rehabilitation plan in order to identify the strengths and defects of the plan. This study shows that while the plan is giving relatively satisfying results over the short and medium terms, it is unlikely to attain long term sustainability.
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