Review Of Recommendations For Forest Energy Harvesting And Wood Ash Recycling

Stupak, Inge; Asikainen, Antti; Röser, Dominik; Pasanen, Karri

doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-5054-1_7

Cited by 32 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Mandatory or voluntary site-level guidelines are one of the key mechanisms employed by jurisdictions, globally, for ensuring that long-term forest productivity is sustainable, including when additional harvest material beyond those used for traditional wood products (i.e., sawlogs, pulpwood) are removed for bioenergy production (Stupak et al 2008). However, as pointed out by Abbas et al (2011), there is no consensus on the amount of logging residue retention required to maintain long-term site productivity, and this knowledge gap is largely due to the limited number of long-term studies in the published literature (Janowiak and Webster 2010;Thiffault et al 2011).…”

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black spruce growth response to varying levels of biomass harvest intensity across a range of soil types: 15-year results

2014

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With a growing interest in the diversification (e.g., bioenergy, biochemicals) of the forest industry beyond the traditional product streams, concerns that higher harvest utilization levels may compromise site productivity have been heightened. This study reports on 15-year tree growth responses to varying levels of biomass removals conducted on four soil types: loamy tills, outwash sands, wet mineral, and peatlands. Experimental harvest treatments included stem-only, full-tree, full-tree chipping (a full-tree harvest with the roadside material chipped and returned to the site), and full-tree + bladed (a full-tree harvest followed by forest floor removal). Results indicated no significant effect on height growth on the loamy tills, a significant decline for the blading treatment on the sandy soils, and an increase when the blading treatment was applied to the peatland sites. At the stand level, better planted seedling survival and higher recruitment of naturals on the more extreme removal treatment (forest floor removal on sandy sites) tended to nullify any negative impacts identified in the individual-tree growth measurements. The more than doubling of the slash loading on the stem-only treatment plots compared with the full-tree plots did not result in differences in tree productivity levels between these two operational treatments. The stands, however, were just approaching crown closure by year 15, suggesting that ongoing monitoring will be required to confirm that the growth trajectories for the various harvest treatment -soil type combinations can be maintained.Résumé : Dans la mesure où l'industrie forestière est de plus en plus intéressée à diversifier ses activités (p. ex., bioénergie et produits biochimiques) au-delà de sa gamme traditionnelle de produits, les craintes que l'utilisation plus complète de la forêt compromette la productivité des stations augmentent. Cette étude rend compte des réactions en croissance des arbres, après 15 ans, à différents degrés de prélèvement de la biomasse sur quatre types de sol : till loameux, sable fluvio-glaciaire, sol minéral humide et tourbières. Les traitements expérimentaux d'exploitation incluaient tronc entier, arbre entier, copeaux d'arbres entiers (récolte d'arbres entiers mis en copeaux en bordure de route et redistribués sur le site), arbre entier + lame bineuse (récolte d'arbres entiers et enlèvement de la couverture morte). Les résultats ne révèlent aucun effet significatif sur la croissance en hauteur sur le till loameux, mais il y a une diminution importante avec le traitement arbre entier + lame bineuse sur les sols sablonneux et une augmentation avec le même traitement dans les tourbières. À l'échelle du peuplement, une meilleure survie des semis plantés et plus de recrues d'origine naturelle dans le traitement où l'enlèvement de la biomasse était le plus prononcé (enlèvement de la couverture morte sur les sols sablonneux) avaient tendance à annuler tous les impacts négatifs identifiés dans les mesures de croissance d'arbres individuels. Dans le trai...

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Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black spruce growth response to varying levels of biomass harvest intensity across a range of soil types: 15-year results

2014

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“…Numerous studies have also demonstrated that applications of wood ash on forest soils can be used to replace some of the nutrients (e.g., phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K)) removed during forest harvesting, to counteract the acidifying effects of atmospheric deposition on forest soils and surface water bodies, and to improve tree growth (Augusto et al 2008;Reid and Watmough 2014;Huotari et al 2015). In several European countries, forest soil applications of wood ash are encouraged, particularly on sites from which harvesting residues have been removed for bioenergy production (Swedish Forest Agency 2008;Stupak et al 2008;Forestry Commission 2009). Thus, disposal of wood ash in Canadian landfills may represent a wasted opportunity to obtain greater economic value from forest biomass and to more sustainably manage the forest resource by closing a loop in the cycling of nutrients during forestry operations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wood ash as a soil amendment in Canadian forests: what are the barriers to utilization?

et al. 2018

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The contribution of forest biomass to Canada’s energy production is small but growing. As the forest bioenergy industry in Canada expands, there is growing interest in more sustainably managing the wood ash that is generated as a by-product. Despite being rich in nutrients, wood ash is usually landfilled in Canada. Soil applications of ash in Canadian forests could be used to mimic some of the effects of wildfire, to replace nutrients removed during harvesting, to counteract the negative effects of acid deposition, and to improve tree growth. At present, the provincial and territorial processes for obtaining regulatory approval to use wood ash as a forest soil amendment can be challenging to navigate. Furthermore, the costs for obtaining approval and transporting and applying wood ash to the soil can render landfilling a more cost-effective method of ash management. To ensure that wood ash applications in Canadian forests are conducted safely, effectively, and efficiently, experience from European countries could provide a useful starting point for developing best practices. The results of Canadian research trials will assist policy makers and forest managers in refining management guidelines that encourage soil applications of wood ash as a forest management tool while protecting the ecology, water quality, biodiversity, and productivity of Canadian forests.

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“…The General Guidelines for State Forest Management is a compilation of several policies, strategies, and prescriptions developed through the 1990s and 2000s, and it is unclear if parts are carried over from previous forest legislation. It is noteworthy that the 1985 guidelines for harvesting of forest wood chips are not included in the General Guidelines for State Forest Management .…”

Section: Governance and Ngo Positionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical, ecological, and governance aspects of intensive forest biomass harvesting in Denmark

Stupak

Raulund‐Rasmussen

2016

WIREs Energy & Environment

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Intensive forest harvesting has increased in Fennoscandia over the last few decades. Similar developments may follow throughout Europe as renewable energy replaces fossil fuels. The international literature suggests that intensive harvesting could increase ecological risks to yield, carbon stores, soil fertility, and biodiversity, but geographically specific knowledge is sparse in many countries, and results do not extend beyond 5-30 years after harvesting. We use Denmark as a case for discussing future directions. Forest history is described, and research on ecological effects and their inclusion in governance is reviewed. Denmark was almost completely deforested by the early 1800s, but centuries of afforestation have resulted in a current forest cover of 14.3%. Research commonly uses stemonly harvesting as a reference against which to compare intensive harvesting impacts, but pristine forests would be a more useful reference for ecological processes and biodiversity. However, pristine forests are almost non-existent in Europe, and non-intervention, self-regulating forests provide an alternative. Governance and positions of non-governmental organizations in Denmark focus more on general forest management impacts and conservation of light-demanding biodiversity associated with historic coppicing and grazing than on intensive harvesting. The energy sector drives the development of new governance to verify forest biomass sustainability, but the national knowledge base for such verification is limited. As part of a larger solution, we suggest establishing a network of nonintervention, self-regulating forests that can serve as a reference for long-term research and monitoring of intensive harvesting impacts. This would support the application of adaptive management strategies, and continuous improvements of best management practice guidelines.

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Review Of Recommendations For Forest Energy Harvesting And Wood Ash Recycling

Cited by 32 publications

References 7 publications

Black spruce growth response to varying levels of biomass harvest intensity across a range of soil types: 15-year results

Black spruce growth response to varying levels of biomass harvest intensity across a range of soil types: 15-year results

Wood ash as a soil amendment in Canadian forests: what are the barriers to utilization?

Historical, ecological, and governance aspects of intensive forest biomass harvesting in Denmark

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