| 1. |
- Buchholz, Thomas, et al.
(author)
-
Mineral soil carbon fluxes in forests and implications for carbon balance assessments
- 2014
-
In: Global Change Biology Bioenergy. - : Wiley. - 1757-1693. ; 6:4, s. 305-311
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Forest carbon cycles play an important role in efforts to understand and mitigate climate change. Large amounts of carbon (C) are stored in deep mineral forest soils, but are often not considered in accounting for global C fluxes because mineral soil C is commonly thought to be relatively stable. We explore C fluxes associated with forest management practices by examining existing data on forest C fluxes in the northeastern US. Our findings demonstrate that mineral soil C can play an important role in C emissions, especially when considering intensive forest management practices. Such practices are known to cause a high aboveground C flux to the atmosphere, but there is evidence that they can also promote comparably high and long-term belowground C fluxes. If these additional fluxes are widespread in forests, recommendations for increased reliance on forest biomass may need to be reevaluated. Furthermore, existing protocols for the monitoring of forest C often ignore mineral soil C due to lack of data. Forest C analyses will be incomplete until this problem is resolved.
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
- Verkerk, Pieter Johannes, et al.
(author)
-
Trade-Offs Between Forest Protection and Wood Supply in Europe
- 2014
-
In: Environmental Management. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0364-152X .- 1432-1009. ; 53:6, s. 1085-1094
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Forest protection is one of the main measures to prevent loss of biological and landscape diversity. This study aimed to assess to what extent forests are currently protected and how felling restrictions affect the potential annual wood supply within 27 European Union member states, Norway, and Switzerland and to discuss trade-offs between intensified use of forest biomass and forest protection efforts. Protected forests covered 33 million ha (20 % of total forest area) in 2005, of which 16 million ha was protected for biodiversity and the remaining area for landscape diversity. Within the protected areas, on average 48 % of the volume cannot be harvested in forests protected for biodiversity and 40 % in forests protected for landscapes. Consequently, 73 million m(3) (10 % of the annual theoretical potential supply from the total forest area) of wood cannot be felled from the protected forests in Europe. Protected forests do not necessarily affect wood supply given the current demand for wood in Europe. However, if demand for wood from European forests for material and energy use significantly increases, the impact of existing protected forest networks may become significant after all. On the other hand, wood harvesting is allowed to a fair extent in many protected areas. Hence, the question could be raised whether biodiversity and landscape diversity within designated areas are sufficiently protected. Careful planning is required to accommodate both the protection of biological and landscape diversity and demand for wood, while not forgetting all other services that forests provide.
|
|
| 4. |
- Zanchi, Giuliana, et al.
(author)
-
Modelling the effects of management intensification on multiple forest services: a Swedish case study
- 2014
-
In: Ecological Modelling. - : Elsevier BV. - 0304-3800. ; 284, s. 48-59
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The study presents a method to evaluate the response of forest ecosystems to increased biomass extraction based on the integrated ecosystem model ForSAFE. It evaluates the effects of residue removal, intensification of thinnings and a shorter rotation period on a forest site in Southern Sweden. The evaluation includes multiple ecosystem indicators for productivity, carbon storage, wood production, water use and water quality. Such integrated assessments can contribute to identify negative or positive impacts affecting ecosystem services provided by forests. Results show that increased biomass extraction reduces the carbon stored in the forests, but at the same time reduces the loss of nitrogen and carbon through leaching. Within one rotation, residue removal affects the carbon stock in the soil, but it does not affect forest productivity and therefore tree carbon stock. Contrarily, the intensification of thinnings and shorter rotation periods reduce carbon stored in trees. In all cases, the amount of wood available for products increases, but the additional harvest from increased thinnings and earlier clear cutting does not compensate for the loss of carbon in trees. A positive consequence of removing the decomposing material from the site is the reduced amount of nutrients lost with runoff. Both leached nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon decrease with intensification. In addition, a positive effect of increased thinnings and a shorter rotation period is a reduced evapotranspiration, i.e. reduced water use. The effect on acidification differed depending on the time frame considered and the applied management scenario, due to different dominating processes regulating acidity. To avoid acidification, management intensification should include measures to prevent loss of base cations in the soil. Overall, under the studied conditions, the risk for negative effects seems to be smaller for residue extraction than for management changes including additional tree harvest. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
|
|
