Biomass Procurement in Boreal Forests Affected by Spruce Budworm : Effects on Regeneration, Costs and Carbon Balance
Using forest biomass procured from forests affected by natural disturbances as a bioenergy source is increasingly considered in the context of climate changes mitigation. This study aimed to determine the effect of biomass procurement, performed alongside lumber harvesting, on natural regeneration establishment, subsequent needs for site preparation to enable planting activities, costs and carbon balance in harvested boreal forests affected by spruce budworm. We compare clearcut harvest cutblocks with and without biomass procurement to evaluate treatment effects on regeneration density and number of planting microsites, total operation costs and carbon fluxes. Results showed that biomass procurement has increased regeneration density and the number of planting microsites. We calculated that the reduction of downed woody debris due to biomass procurement reduced site preparation costs by 282.07 Canadian dollars (CAD) ha -1 , equivalent to 14.45 CAD odmt -1 of harvested biomass. We determined that product value from biomass processing has to be between 13.90 and 76.84 CAD per oven-dry metric tonne (odmt -1 ) to make biomass procurement operations profitable. Since biomass procurement significantly increased stocking and reduced the amount of decaying debris, it did also reduce cumulative CO 2 emissions relative to scenarios without biomass procurement. However, ensuring optimal stand productivity through site preparation and plantation per se , irrespective of biomass procurement, plays a more important role for carbon balance and ensuring high carbon sequestration. Our study suggests that integrating biomass harvesting to silviculture can have significant ecological and financial benefits while supporting mitigation efforts against climate change
Year of publication: |
[2021]
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Authors: | Gouge, Daniel ; Thiffault, Evelyne ; Thiffault, Nelson |
Publisher: |
[S.l.] : SSRN |
Subject: | Treibhausgas-Emissionen | Greenhouse gas emissions | Bioenergie | Bioenergy | Forstwirtschaft | Forestry | Wald | Forest | Beschaffung | Procurement |
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