Link: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1720064115
Summary: The research team examined the relative merits of afforestation, reforestation, management changes, and harvest residue bioenergy use in Oregon using net ecosystem carbon balance as the primary metric. The study also quantified the carbon dioxide emissions associated with the logging and wood products sector. This region represents some of the highest carbon density forests in the world, which can store carbon in trees for 800 years or more.
Key excerpts:
- “In 2011–2015, net wood product emissions were 34.45 million tCO2e and almost 10-fold fire emissions.”
- “The net wood product emissions are higher than fire emissions despite carbon benefits of storage in wood products and substitution for more fossil fuel-intensive products.”
- “Harvest-related emissions should be quantified, as they are much larger than fire emissions in the western United States. Full accounting of forest sector emissions is necessary to meet climate mitigation goals.”
- “Reforestation, afforestation, lengthened harvest cycles on private lands, and restricting harvest on public lands increase NECB 56% by 2100, with the latter two actions contributing the most.”
- “Converting 127,000 ha of irrigated grass crops to native forests could decrease irrigation demand by 233 billion m3⋅y−1.”
- “Utilizing harvest residues for bioenergy production instead of leaving them in forests to decompose increased emissions in the short-term (50 y), reducing mitigation effectiveness.”