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Impacts of initial stand density and thinning regimes on energy wood production and management-related CO2 emissions in boreal ecosystems

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Abstract

An ecosystem model (Sima) was utilised to investigate the impact of forest management (by changing both the initial stand density and basal area thinning thresholds from current recommendations) on energy wood production (at energy wood thinning and final felling) and management-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for the energy wood production in Finnish boreal conditions (62°39′ N, 29°37′ E). The simultaneous effects of energy wood, timber and C stocks in the forest ecosystem (live and dead biomass) were also assessed. The analyses were carried out at stand level during a rotation period of 80 years for Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) growing in different fertility sites. Generally, the results showed that decreased basal area thinning thresholds, compared with current thinning, reduced energy wood (logging residues) and timber production, as well as carbon stocks in the forest ecosystem. Conversely, increased thinning thresholds increased energy wood production (ca. 1–27%) at both energy wood thinning and final felling and reduced CO2 emissions (ca. 2–6%) related to the production chain (e.g. management operations), depending on the thinning threshold levels, initial stand density, species and site. Increased thinning thresholds also enhanced timber production and carbon stocks in the forest ecosystem. Additionally, increased initial stand density enhanced energy wood production for energy wood thinning for both species, but this reduced energy wood production at final felling for Scots pine and Norway spruce. This study concluded that increases in both initial stand density and thinning thresholds, compared with the current level, could be useful in energy wood, timber and carbon stocks enhancement, as well as reducing management-related CO2 emissions for energy wood production. Only 2.4–3.3% of input of the produced energy (energy wood) was required during the whole production chain, depending on the management regime, species and sites. However, a comprehensive substitution analysis of wood-based energy, in respect to environmental benefits, would also require the inclusion of CO2 emissions related to ecosystem processes (e.g. decomposition).

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Acknowledgments

The work was funded from Nordic Energy Research (NER) (2007–2010) through the project ‘The Climate and Energy System; Risks, Potential and Adaptation—Renewable Energy: Bio-fuels working group’ coordinated by Prof. Seppo Kellomäki, School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland. The authors thank Mr. Harri Strandman for technical help and Dr. David Gritten for linguistic revision.

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  1. Antti Kilpeläinen

    Present address: Finnish Environment Institute, Joensuu office, P.O. Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

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  1. School of Forest Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, 80101, Joensuu, Finland

    Ashraful Alam, Antti Kilpeläinen & Seppo Kellomäki

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  1. Ashraful Alam
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Correspondence to Ashraful Alam.

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Communicated by K. Puettmann.

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Alam, A., Kilpeläinen, A. & Kellomäki, S. Impacts of initial stand density and thinning regimes on energy wood production and management-related CO2 emissions in boreal ecosystems. Eur J Forest Res 131, 655–667 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-011-0539-8

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