Carbon balance for different management practices for fast growing tree species planted on former pastureland in southern Europe: a case study using the CO2Fix model

Abstract

Although it is known that forestry mitigates carbon emissions to some degree, there is still a need to investigate the extent to which changes in forest management regimes affect the carbon cycle. In a climate-change scenario, forest management schemes must be optimized to maximize product supply and minimize environmental impacts. It is difficult to predict the mitigating effects of different silvicultural regimes because of differences in the growth characteristics of each species, destination of products, and industrial efficiencies. The objective of the present study was to use a modeling approach to evaluate the effects of different management regimes for fast growing species in southern temperate Europe in relation to mitigating climate change. A comprehensive study was carried out considering the C sink effect in biomass, soil and wood products, the substitutive effect of bioenergy, and particular conditions of the forest industry in southern Europe. The mechanistic CO 2 Fix model was parameterized for three species used in fast growing plantations in southern Europe: Eucalyptus globulus, Eucalyptus nitens, and Pinus radiata. Data from 120 plots covering the complete age range observed for each species were used to calculate changes in C stocks in aboveground biomass and organic and mineral soil and to validate the parameterized model for these conditions. Additional information about the efficiency of forest industry processes in the region was also considered. A strong bias in soil organic carbon estimation was observed and attributed to overestimations in the decomposition rates of soil compartments. Slight bias was also observed in the carbon biomass estimation when forest-specific yield models were used to simulate afforestation over former pastureland. As regards the model sensitivity, the Yasso model was strongly robust to turnover of leaves, roots, and branches. The chip wood production alternative yielded higher carbon stock in biomass and products, as well as in bioenergy substitution effect, than the sawn wood production alternative. Nevertheless, the sawn wood alternative was the most effective as regards the C stock in the soil. Site index had an important effect for all species, alternatives, and compartments, and mitigating effects increased with site index. Harvesting of clearcutting and thinning slash for bioenergy use led to a slight decrease in the soil carbon equilibrium but significantly increased the mitigation effect through bioenergy use.

Carbon Sequestration of Different Types of Floodplain Forests in the Maros River Valley (Hungary)

“…Another issue probably affecting the final results is that the soil carbon loss following clear-cutting and replanting cannot be directly included in the model. Also, according to Pérez-Cruzado et al (2012) the model overestimates the decomposition rates for the soil compartments, leading to underestimation where carbon density is high.…”

“…In general, there is a lack of data for those tree and shrub species which are not considered economically important. Pérez-Cruzado et al (2012) also bring up the possible role of including the ground vegetation in a more realistic estimate of soil organic content, since the model parameterization does not consider litter input sources other than trees.…”

Water and carbon in forests: challenges for forest management under the pressures of climate change

“…Pérez-Cruzado et al (2012) investigated the carbon balance in fastgrowing forest plantations (Eucalyptus globulus, Eucalyptus nitens and Pinus radiata) established on former pasture land. These authors applied a modeling approach to evaluate the effects of different management regimes for the above-mentioned fast-growing species in southern temperate Europe in relation to mitigating climate change.…”

Using Silviculture to Influence Carbon Sequestration in Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forests

“…These pools were accounted for following the decay fates for harvested products in Smith et al [22]. Although protocols exist to explicitly monitor the products and their inefficiencies (e.g., the CO 2 Fix model [49]) the FFE accounting system is built-in to the FVS framework, follows international C sequestration protocols [25] and is most likely to be used by forest managers.…”