Quantifying the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of a Mechanized Shelterwood Harvest Producing Both Sawtimber and Woodchips
Forests are used to mitigate anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through carbon offset programs, and forest management is generally accepted as “carbon neutral”. However, forest harvesting operations depend heavily on fossil fuels, so it would be remiss to broadly paint all forms of managem...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/1/70 |
| _version_ | 1797493975541612544 |
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| author | Joshua P. Weyrens Obste Therasme René H. Germain |
| author_facet | Joshua P. Weyrens Obste Therasme René H. Germain |
| author_sort | Joshua P. Weyrens |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Forests are used to mitigate anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through carbon offset programs, and forest management is generally accepted as “carbon neutral”. However, forest harvesting operations depend heavily on fossil fuels, so it would be remiss to broadly paint all forms of management as carbon neutral without empirical verification of this claim. Biomass feedstock, as a means to supplant fossil fuel consumption, has received the bulk of investigative efforts, as the carbon benefit of biomass is one of the most contentious among wood products, because it does not create long-term carbon storage. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on a winter shelterwood harvest occurring in the Adirondacks of upstate New York. Primary data were collected daily throughout the operation and used to model the impact attributed to producing clean chips and logs for delivery to a pulp mill and sawmill, respectively. This harvest produced 4894 Mg of clean chips and 527 Mg of sawtimber. We calculated that 39.77 and 25.16 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent were emitted per Mg of clean chips and sawtimber, respectively, with a total observed flow of GHG into the atmosphere between 206 and 210 thousand kilograms. The results contribute to our understanding of the global warming potential of implementing a forest harvest to produce raw materials for medium- and long-term carbon storage products such as paper and dimensional hardwood lumber. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:27:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-62ea4a00af29458fa8d1471d0ba689a6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:27:42Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-62ea4a00af29458fa8d1471d0ba689a62023-11-23T13:47:19ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072022-01-011317010.3390/f13010070Quantifying the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of a Mechanized Shelterwood Harvest Producing Both Sawtimber and WoodchipsJoshua P. Weyrens0Obste Therasme1René H. Germain2Department of Sustainable Resources Management, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USADepartment of Sustainable Resources Management, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USADepartment of Sustainable Resources Management, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210, USAForests are used to mitigate anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through carbon offset programs, and forest management is generally accepted as “carbon neutral”. However, forest harvesting operations depend heavily on fossil fuels, so it would be remiss to broadly paint all forms of management as carbon neutral without empirical verification of this claim. Biomass feedstock, as a means to supplant fossil fuel consumption, has received the bulk of investigative efforts, as the carbon benefit of biomass is one of the most contentious among wood products, because it does not create long-term carbon storage. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on a winter shelterwood harvest occurring in the Adirondacks of upstate New York. Primary data were collected daily throughout the operation and used to model the impact attributed to producing clean chips and logs for delivery to a pulp mill and sawmill, respectively. This harvest produced 4894 Mg of clean chips and 527 Mg of sawtimber. We calculated that 39.77 and 25.16 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent were emitted per Mg of clean chips and sawtimber, respectively, with a total observed flow of GHG into the atmosphere between 206 and 210 thousand kilograms. The results contribute to our understanding of the global warming potential of implementing a forest harvest to produce raw materials for medium- and long-term carbon storage products such as paper and dimensional hardwood lumber.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/1/70forest managementcarbon sequestrationsilvicultureloggingbiomasslife cycle assessment |
| spellingShingle | Joshua P. Weyrens Obste Therasme René H. Germain Quantifying the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of a Mechanized Shelterwood Harvest Producing Both Sawtimber and Woodchips Forests forest management carbon sequestration silviculture logging biomass life cycle assessment |
| title | Quantifying the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of a Mechanized Shelterwood Harvest Producing Both Sawtimber and Woodchips |
| title_full | Quantifying the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of a Mechanized Shelterwood Harvest Producing Both Sawtimber and Woodchips |
| title_fullStr | Quantifying the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of a Mechanized Shelterwood Harvest Producing Both Sawtimber and Woodchips |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quantifying the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of a Mechanized Shelterwood Harvest Producing Both Sawtimber and Woodchips |
| title_short | Quantifying the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of a Mechanized Shelterwood Harvest Producing Both Sawtimber and Woodchips |
| title_sort | quantifying the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of a mechanized shelterwood harvest producing both sawtimber and woodchips |
| topic | forest management carbon sequestration silviculture logging biomass life cycle assessment |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/1/70 |
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