Download Chapter_3_2008

EU Project e-LUP
Simulating land use processes – an interactive e-tool for SIA
Chapter 6
(former 3)
Forest Resources and Carbon Sink
Second draft
O. Chertov
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Bordeaux
June 12-14 2008
ORIGINAL FORMULATION of Chapter 3:
SIA and the forest cycle • structure, • growth and biomass
• carbon sink • greenhouse gases and their effects
Case study: 7 FE plots thru Eurasia
Models: forest growth, carbon sequestration (PipeQual,
BIOME)
Writers: SPbSU, IGSO, SAV
Impact issues to be answered
Does the option affect the emission of ozone-depleting substances (CFCs, HCFCs, etc.) and
greenhouse gases (e.g. carbon dioxide, methane etc) into the atmosphere?
Especially CARBON SEQUESTRATION.
Does the option affect the use of renewable resources (freshwater, fish, here FORESTS)
more quickly than they can regenerate?
Effects on biodiversity, flora, fauna and landscapes (comprehensive treatment in Chapter 6).
Effects on protection of particular social groups (dependent on forests)
Does the option affect the involvement of stakeholders in issues of governance as provided for in
the Treaty and the new governance approach?
The forest-wood chain:
Does the option have an impact on the competitive position of EU firms in comparison
with their non-EU rivals?
Does the option have significant effects on certain sectors?
What are the overall consequences of the option for economic growth and employment?
Impact issues to be answered
Does the option affect the emission of ozone-depleting substances (CFCs, HCFCs, etc.) and
greenhouse gases (e.g. carbon dioxide, methane etc) into the atmosphere?
Especially CARBON SEQUESTRATION.
Does the option affect the use of renewable resources (freshwater, fish, here FORESTS)
more quickly than they can regenerate?
Effects on biodiversity, flora, fauna and landscapes (comprehensive treatment in Chapter 6).
Effects on protection of particular social groups (dependent on forests)
Does the option affect the INVOLMENTS OF STAKEHOLDERS in issues of governance as
provided for in the Treaty and the new governance approach?
The forest-wood chain:
Does the option have an impact on the competitive position of EU firms in comparison
with their non-EU rivals?
Does the option have significant effects on certain sectors?
What are the overall consequences of the option for economic growth and employment?
Impact issues to be answered
Does the option affect the emission of ozone-depleting substances (CFCs, HCFCs, etc.) and
greenhouse gases (e.g. carbon dioxide, methane etc) into the atmosphere?
Especially CARBON SEQUESTRATION.
Does the option affect the use of renewable resources (freshwater, fish, her e from FORESTS)
more quickly than they can regenerate?
Effects on biodiversity, flora, fauna and landscapes (comprehensive treatment in Chapter 6).
Effects on protection of particular social groups (dependent on forests)
Does the option affect the INVOLMENTS OF STAKEHOLDERS in issues of governance as
provided for in the Treaty and the new governance approach?
The forest-wood chain:
Does the option have an impact on the competitive position of EU firms in comparison
with their non-EU rivals?
Does the option have significant effects on certain sectors?
What are the overall consequences of the option for economic growth and employment?
OVERALL ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES
Chapter’s planned contents
Issues, order of topics:
forest and sustainable forestry
forest-wood chain, sector of the EU economy
climate change scenarios (J.Keskitalo)
global change effects on forests, case study
carbon sequestration, forests and other land use
llustrations and indicators:
forest cover, Europe and European Russia afforestation trend, Europe –
forest-wood chain –
forest productivity –
greenhouse gas emissions –
scenarios and actions –
-
EU-policies
○ Russian policies - short list
○ Impacts and assessment
○ SIA assessment tools (recommended ones) - indicators?
primary: forest yield and growth models, process models,
Forest management, DSS
integrated: EforWood – it is very complicated and only for “forestry-wood-chain”, FWC
○ Case study
THE FOREST ECOSYSTEMS PLOTS - NETHERLANDS TO SIBERIA
(5-10 pages by IGSO)
○ Visualization of tool (if any)
- PUME
What issues covered
Issues, order of topics:
forest and sustainable forestry
forest-wood chain, sector of the EU economy
climate change scenarios (J.Keskitalo)
global change effects on forests, case study
carbon sequestration, forests and other land use
llustrations and indicators:
forest cover, Europe and European Russia afforestation trend, Europe –
forest-wood chain –
forest productivity –
greenhouse gas emissions –
scenarios and actions –
-
EU-policies
○ Russian policies - short list
○ Impacts and assessment
○ SIA assessment tools (recommended ones) - indicators?
primary: forest yield and growth models, process models,
Forest management, DSS
integrated: EforWood – it is very complicated and only for “forestry-wood-chain”, FWC
○ Case study
THE FOREST ECOSYSTEMS PLOTS - NETHERLANDS TO SIBERIA
(5-10 pages by IGSO)
○ Visualization of tool (if any) - PUME
What have additionally done in Chapter 3
• New scientific information and some data on relevant
projects added to the text and supplementary materials
• More illustrations included
• Forestry regimes are considered in more details
• Some new aspects of the problem of SFM and carbon
sequestration are included in the discussion
• Draft of DB (?)
Scheme of carbon and other elements turnover
in forest ecosystem
List of silvicultural regimes
1. Regular thinning and final clear cutting with successive regeneration by merchantable tree species
2. Clear-cutting with regeneration by deciduous species and a poor regeneration by merchantable
trees (‘bad or illegal’ forest management)
3. Clear-cutting of two previous types with disturbances (forest fires, storm windfall, insect and
fungal attacks)
4. Short rotation clear cutting (including also coppice and ‘low forest’ [’ Niederwald’] with generally
vegetative regeneration by sprouts)
5. Short rotation clear cutting with fertilization (‘Plantation forestry’)
6. Partial cutting with successive natural regeneration
7. Patch cutting with successive natural regeneration
8. Selective cutting starting from young stands that is a some kind of short rotation selective system
9. Classical selective cutting
10. Dauerwald: every year cutting of a small amount of wood that is equal to the annual wood
increment
11. Natural development without any cutting with the non-catastrophic natural disturbances (mostly
irregular windfall and stochastic mortality)
12. Deforestation for urban and industrial use
13. Afforestation of

open mines, badlands, landslides, peat-hags, drained peat lands

polluted industrial barrens

pastures, shrub lands and degraded plough lands
14. Restoration of degraded forests after

catastrophic natural disturbances (canopy fire, insect attack, wide-area windfall),

severe anthropogenic disturbances (overgrazing, recreation, illegal cutting)
Consideration of forestry regimes in more
detail according to the WP
New silvicultural concepts
The idea of close-to-nature forestry (continuous
forest cover) versus plantation forestry and
whole tree harvesting is now declared and
discussing in European forest community
This approach will be developed in a frame of
just submitted big EU project on adaptive
forest management (coordinator: BadenWürttemberg Forest Research Institute,
Freiburg, Germany)
New technological aspects
Practical implementation of environmentally reliable forest management
needs to reconsider the technological aspects of wood harvesting
There is an idea of “reduced-impact logging”, RIL. It needs elaboration of new
prototypes of harvesting and transport machines
European and especially Russian silvicultural and harvesting technologies still
use very large and heavy machines (harvesters and transporters) that
significantly disturb tree roots and stems, tree regeneration ground
vegetation and soil
Possible trends on the development of a new environmentally neutral
generation of small light machinery for non-disturbing wood harvesting
(RIL). It should be some kind of NANO-TECHNIQUE
Even a use of horse transportation of logs seems to be profitable in some
special cases because it is absolutely ecological technology (for example,
in recreational forests in combination with horse use for tourism)
Combination of management regimes at
landscape level
Various combinations of forestry options should be an optimal
approach to compromise environmental, economic and
social pillars of SIA
The important point for the combination of different forest
management options is a principle of establishment of offset
regimes for any intensive ecologically not optimal forest use
(Knaus et al., 2006)
It means the necessity to combine the economically and
socially favourable silviculture (that can be ecologically not
optimal) with the environmentally unblemished but not
profitable forest management
Attention to the natural mechanisms of carbon
sequestration
It is well known in Forest Soil Science and Ecology that wet sites have high
soil Carbon pools and total carbon pool in these ecosystems is higher
than on drained sites
Therefore a construction of dams on forest watercourses to create small
ponds will lead to water accumulation in soil due to ground water table
rise and following soil Carbon sequestration
The same effect will have a restoration of beaver population on small forest
water streams as it was on East European Plain at all post-glacial time
before growth of human population (Kaliakin et al., 2004)
However, the forest productivity will be lower here in comparison with well
drained forests, though it can be opposite and profitable for forest
growth in Mediterranean (arid) climate
Actually, the loss of forest productivity in this case represents an economical
cost for Carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems
Climate change consequences
• Forest productivity and tree biomass increasing with
decreasing of soil organic Carbon in boreal and
temperate forests
• Forest productivity and soil Carbon decreasing in
Mediterranean climate
• Increasing of forest fire risk due to higher frequency
of hot and dry summers
• Growth of frequency of catastrophic antmospheric
events with a strong damage to forests
Main adaptive measures for forest regions at
climate change (Kellomäki et al., 2008)
Region
Future
conditions
Impact on
forests
Management
Boreal forests and
northern parts of
Atlantic forests
Higher temperature and
precipitation, short
duration of snow cover
and soil frost,
enhanced
decomposition of soil
organic matter.
Enhanced growth and
regeneration,
increasing dominance
of deciduous species,
reducing fire risk,
increasing risks of
wind and snow
damage.
Shorter rotation and regular thinnings, preference of natural
regeneration and in plantation preference of more southern
origin of existing tree species, more preference for deciduous
species, in coniferous stands regular tending and
precommercial thinning of deciduous species in favour of
conifers, suppression of enhanced growth of herbs and
grasses in seedling stands and regeneration areas, limiting
the import of fresh timber from areas with pests potentially
damaging forests under the climate change.
Southern parts of
Atlantic forests and
Continental forests
(temperate forests)
Higher temperature,
reducing precipitation,
increasing drought risk,
reducing risk of spring
and autumn frost,
enhancing
decomposition of soil
organic matter,
increasing fire risk.
Drought risk, reducing
success of natural
regeneration and
growth of existing
deciduous species,
increasing frequency
of endogenic and
exogenic damages.
Shorter rotation and regular thinnings with wider spacing,
preference of drought tolerance conifers in plantations with
wider spacing, tree improvement programmes to increase
the drought tolerance of tree plantations, limiting the import
of fresh timber from areas with pests potentially damaging
forests under the climate change.
Mediterranean
forests
Higher temperature,
strong seasonality of
precipitation with high
winter precipitation and
extreme summer
drought, severe fire
risk.
Severe drought risk,
reducing success of
natural regeneration
and growth of existing
deciduous species,
eliminating of tree
species, increasing
frequency of
damaging fire.
Shorter rotation, soil management and plating technique need
to be developed to meet the special conditions resulted in by
the increasing drought, introduction of new species now
successful in dry subtropics, management of forest
plantations may need technique now proper in dry
subtropics, large-scale tree improvement programmes in
order to increase the genetic potentials of tree plantations to
adapt higher temperatures with drought, preferring wider
spacing in plantations and later in thinnings, the fire fighting
needs special measures, limiting the import of fresh timber
from areas with pests potentially damaging forests under the
climate change.
Change of carbon pool in tree biomass (A) and soil (B)
under climate change at four silvicultural scenarios with
atmospheric nitrogen deposition 12 kg ha-1 year-1
in Russky Les Forest, Central European Russia
(Mikhailov et al., 2007)
Some philosophical conclusions of
practical importance
• Modern environmentalism and C&I of SFM
has moistly defensive strategy: to protect, to
stop further disturbance, degradation,
pollution, etc
• The environmental strategy should be more
constructive and active to restore natural
ecological systems (generally all biosphere)
and especially forest ecosystems
Interaction of environmental and economic SIA
in forest sector:
Practically, the more environmentally/ecologically sound is
forestry option the higher is its price (financial, technological
and sociological because high skilled professionals will be
necessary) at the short-term perspective
But the situation is totally opposite at the long-term time span
(actually taking into account future generations)
The options with a direct economic profit/gain but not
environmentally reliable (for example short rotation forestry
in boreal climate) always have harmful cumulative ecological
effects at the long-term perspective. It can be sometimes
tragic and irreversible
European governments now
pay a great attention to environmental
problems and especially to problems of forest
conservation
Perhaps, there is time now
to pay great money for forest and whole nature
restoration (not only a conservation of the rest)
– mostly for future generations
Restoration of forest ecosystems should be an
additional priority of SFM
Thank you!