Managed forests unlikely to increase carbon sequestration unless managed under new terms: report
In Germany, researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Jena wrote, in a letter published in this issue of Science, that our personal experience shows that managed forests are unlikely to increase the land carbon sink unless foresters are aid a fair price for the ecosystems services they provide.”
The research team based their conclusions on a six-year experience with managing a 235 hectare (580 acre) managed forest including mountain spruce and deciduous. The team reported that “leaving [forest] slash on site was well received by nature conservators because of the habitats provided by the dead wood, but the spruce slash stimulated nitrification, and tall thickets of nettle prevented tree regeneration.”
Digest reader CarlSchnaitman comments:
“The main objection I have is that they failed to take the potential value of cellulosic biofuels into account. To me this is the most important part of the story, particularly here in the US. Almost half of the land mass of North America is now covered with second-growth timber, all of it badly in need of thinning. In this context, thinning refers to reducing the number of stems per acre to stimulate growth by reducing competition, to reduce fire danger, or to eliminate undesirable species. Generally, thinning involves removal trees of six inches in diameter or less, for which there is almost no market. These trees are a fantastic source of feedstock for cellulosic fuels. In fact. the whole beauty of cellulose-based fuels is that they could provide a source of revenue to fund the much-needed renovation of our forests. And unlike pulpwood, which is highly species-specific, almost any species of wood is suitable for biofuel production.”
The complete letter is available for download here.
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