Download forest ecosystems

Active forest management
and its role in climate
change mitigation
• Tomas Lundmark
• SLU
• Sweden
The Scandinavian model
•0.7 %
•5 %
•10 %
Broader insights on forest
management in relation to carbon
balance and bioeconomy
The importance of management
Potential to mitigate climate change
Potential to contribute to bio-economy
Unmanaged
Managed
Heterogeneous structure
Old-growth
Natural disturbances
Lots of dead wood
Natural regeneration
Even-aged stands
Even age class distribution
Rotations adapted to
”maximize” mean annual
production
Silviculture
Forest Mitigation Strategies:
Two competing positions
Stop logging …..
… or use wood?
Strategies to mitigate climate change
… reduce emissions?
Bioenergy
Fossil energy
Forest products
Other products
Forest ecosystem
“carbon stock”
Consumption
Strategies to mitigate climate change
…maximize carbon stock in the
forests
Forest ecosystem
Bioenergy
Fossil energy
Forest products
Other products
Consumption
Strategies to mitigate climate change
… or maximize forest growth to
increase consumption of “CO2neutral products”?
Bioenergy
Fossil energy
Forest products
Other products
Forest ecosystem
Consumption
Mitigation Options in the Forest Sector
1. Increase stand-level carbon density
2. Increase landscape-level carbon density
3. Increase (or maintain) forest area
4. Increase C stored in products,
5. Reduce or avoid fossil emissions through
product substitution and through
bioenergy use
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The concept of climate change
mitigation efficiency (CCME)
CCME of 1 m3 wood (present use)
470 kg CO2
CCME of 1 m3 (more solid wood
and bioenergy)
>700 kg CO2
Long term climate benefit of present
forest management and product use in
Sweden
• Reduced or avoided emissions in Sweden in the
range of 15-20 million ton CO2-eq per year
• Reduced or avoided emissions in other countries
in the range of 45 million ton CO2-eq per year
• Global effect ≈ 60 million ton CO2-eq per year
Conclusions
• Design of climate change mitigation portfolios in the forest
sector should account for changes in C in forest ecosystems, in
harvested wood products, and for substitution benefits,
relative to a base case.
• Climate change mitigation efficiency varies among silvicultural
activities, product use strategies and by region, and no single
strategy is best everywhere.
• Time perspective is crucial.
• A forest that is not growing more than today can not make
further climate benefit.
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Conclusions
• Forest growth and the use of forest products is more important
than carbon storage in the forest in the long term
• if you do not believe in breakthroughs that solves the energy issue
• The “mitigation” effect can increase significantly in the Nordic and
Baltic countries if measures are taken to increase sustainable
harvest levels
• Forest management matters !!
Some final remarks
• increased forest growth = increased climate
benefit
• increased forest growth means opportunities for
increased sustainable yields
• increased sustainable yields mean increased
opportunities for the bio-economy to develop
• there is much to be gained by a more active
forestry
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