Estimation of the embodied carbon in China's wood products trade using input–output methodology

This study calculates the embodied carbon in imports,exports,net exports,and the processing trade of China's wood product sector between 2001 and 2016 using a non-competitive input-output(I-O)model.The results demonstrate that embodied carbon showed a decreasing trend between 2001 and 2016.Embodied carbon was lowest in wood furniture imports and highest in paper and paperboard imports.The embodied carbon in sawnwood and veneer sheet exports was the lowest and paper and paperboard exports was the highest.The embodied carbon in the processing trade of paper and paperboard was the highest.To reduce the embodied carbon in China's wood products,the government should promote technological transformation and upgrading and encourage the implementation of green technology innovation.

Republic of Congo’ Wood Products Exported to China: Insight of the Characteristics, Trends, and Perspectives for Sustainable Trade

Wood products trade sector remains crucial for many countries’ economies. This is also for the Republic of Congo (RC) where wood is the second most exported natural resource. In this study, we aimed to determine the predominant wood products exported from the RC to China from 2007 to 2019, analyze the trends related to this trade, compare the quantities of wood products exported to China and other destinations, and determine the perspectives for the sustainable trade. The descriptive study using graphs and tables, non-parametric technique Kruskal-Wallis, pairwise comparisons, and SWOT analysis made up the methodological basis for this study. IBM SPSS Statistics 26 software supported data processing. The results showed that logs were mainly exported to China, 92.585% of the three major wood products quantity (Logs, Wet sawnwood, and Dried sawnwood). Volume distributions between products categories differ significantly (Sig. = 0.000 < α = 0.05). Besides, a significant volume (69.32%) was exported to China compared to the other destinations, and volume distributions between different destinations differ significantly (Sig. = 0.000 < α = 0.05). The SWOT analysis describes weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, and potential threats related to RC’ wood products trade sector. The prospects for sustainable trade in wood products between the RC and China lie in establishing a good governance in the timber sector, supporting the emergence of domestic operators, and improving the business climate.

Incorporating carbon sink of harvested wood products into ecological footprint accounting:model and case study

Ecological footprint(EF)accounting system is widely used in assessing environmental sustainability at various spatial scales.To improve the EF performance,a new EF calculation framework was established in this study,in which HWP is considered as carbon sinks and the model was then applied to the Yangtze River basin of China.Results showed that(1)carbon sink in the basin is about 2.99 Tg per year and it varies substantially across subbasins,which has a nonlinear relationship with net primary productivity;(2)available biocapacity calculated in the whole basin increases from 0.5068 to 0.5759 national ha(nha)per capita when incorporating the carbon sinks.In a few subbasins,the added biocapacity is even larger than the biocapacity estimated from the conventional approach;(3)the EF of the basin is 5.598 nha per capita and it is much larger than its biological carrying capacity(BC),indicating that ecological deficit is ubiquitous across the basin.If carbon sinks are considered,the ecological deficit would decrease by 3.2–14.3%for different regions in the basin.It is necessary to incorporate HWP and other potential terrestrial carbon sinks in the EF accounting,and more efforts are needed in improving carbon sink accuracy.

Solid Wood Products from Eucalypts Plantations

To improve and diversify the use of tropical plantation timbers in Southern China, with support from International Tropical Timber Organizations (ITTO), a research project was started in 2002 focusing on development of processing and manufacturing technologies to promote production of value-added wood products from eucalypts plantations. This project will also facilitate the formulation of forest management strategy in China to supplement the diminishing supply of timber from the natural forests. The sp...

Trade-offs between wood production and forest grouse habitats in two regions with distinctive landscapes

Background:Forest management affects the viability of forest grouse populations,causing alterations to habitat quality.At the regional level,common targets for wood harvesting and safeguarding of specific habitats are negotiated between various stakeholders.Analysing potential trade-offs between forest grouse habitats and wood production in the region could support resource-smart decision making.Methods:In this paper,we compiled trade-off curves represented as production possibility frontiers demonstrating the relationship between forest grouse habitat area and wood removal,using a Finnish forestry dynamics model and the Finnish Multi-Source National Forest Inventory.For the modelling of forest grouse habitats,a landscape-level occurrence model based on nationwide wildlife triangle census data was used.Five alternative forest scenarios in terms of wood removal were compiled for two study areas in Finland representing two different landscape structures.Results and conclusions:Results showed that impacts on forest grouse habitats were case-specific.In the southern study area,increasing the roundwood harvesting rate affected grouse habitats more strongly as forests were already fragmented for other land uses and became more spruce-dominated over time.If the maximum sustainable removal rate was implemented,predicted grouse habitat area was 55%less than in a no-removal scenario.In the eastern study area,a more heavily forested region,the decrease was far lower at 22%.Scenario results were also compared to levels of recorded(business as usual)wood removal and that envisaged by valid regional forestry programmes,and their sustainability in terms of grouse habitat area was discussed.The production possibility frontiers calculated in this study support the evaluation of the loss of suitable habitat caused by different wood harvesting rates,or vice versa,the economic cost of increasing habitat areas.

The effect of number of joints on bending properties of laminated lumber made from poplar (Populus nigra)

Connection plays an important role in structural components and end jointing is one of the most common connections in structural applications. This study was designed to investigate some mechanical properties （MOE and MOR） of solid wood samples manufactured from poplar （Populus nigra）, joined together through end jointing. As well, we studied combinations of lumber manufactured from 10-mm veneer, using a polyvinyl acetate adhesive. The results show that non-jointed lumber （control samples） have better bending properties （MOE and MOR） than jointed specimens and lumber made from laminated layers. On the whole, side-by- side joints have a negative effect on the MOR and MOE of laminated products, which is more pronounced in the MOR. By increasing the number of joints, the properties of combination of three-ply, i.e., bending strength and modulus of elasticity, decreased.

Carbon forestry is surprising

Background： Forestry offers possibilities to sequestrate carbon in living biomass, deadwood and forest soil, as we as in products prepared of wood. In addition, the use of wood may reduce carbon emissions from fossil fuels. However, harvesting decreases the carbon stocks of forests and increases emissions from decomposing harvest residues. Methods： This study used simulation and optimization to maximize carbon sequestration in a boreal forest estate consisting of nearly 600 stands. A reference management plan maximized net present value and the other plans maximized the total carbon balance of a 100-, 200- or 300-year planning horizon, taking into account the carbon balances of living forest biomass, dead organic matter, and wood-based products Results： Maximizing carbon balance led to low cutting level with all three planning horizons. Depending on the time span, the carbon balance of these schedules was 2 to 3.5 times higher than in the plan that maximized net present value. It was not optimal to commence cuttings when the carbon pool of living biomass and dead organic matter stopped increasing after 150-200 years. Conclusions： Letting many mature trees to die was a better strategy than harvesting them when the aim was to maximize the long-term carbon balance of boreal Fennoscandian forest. The reason for this conclusion was that large dead trees are better carbon stores than harvested trees. To alter this outcome, a higher proportion of harvested trees should be used for products in which carbon is stored for long time.

Additive predictions of aboveground stand biomass in commercial logs and harvest residues for rotation age Pinus radiata plantations in New South Wales,Australia

Two systems of additive equations were developed to predict aboveground stand level biomass in log products and harvest residue from routinely measured or predicted stand variables for Pinus radiata plantations in New South Wales,Australia.These plantations were managed under three thinning regimes or stand types before clear-felling at rotation age by cut-to-length harvesters to produce sawlogs and pulpwood.The residue material following a clear-fell operation mainly consisted of stumps,branches and treetops,short off-cut and waste sections due to stem deformity,defects,damage and breakage.One system of equations did not include dummy variables for stand types in the model specification and was intended for more general use in plantations where stand density management regimes were not the same as the stand types in our study.The other system that incorporated dummy variables was for stand type-specific applications.Both systems of equations were estimated using 61 plot-based estimates of biomass in commercial logs and residue components that were derived from systems of equations developed in situ for predicting the product and residue biomass of individual trees.To cater for all practical applications,two sets of parameters were estimated for each system of equations for predicting component and total aboveground stand biomass in fresh and dry weight respectively.The two sets of parameters for the system of equations without dummy variables were jointly estimated to improve statistical efficiency in parameter estimation.The predictive performances of the two systems of equations were benchmarked through a leave-one-plot-out cross validation procedure.They were generally superior to the performance of an alternative two-stage approach that combined an additive system for major components with an allocative system for sub-components.As using forest harvest residue biomass for bioenergy has increasingly become an integrated part of forestry,reliable estimates of product and residue biomass will assist harvest and management planning for clear-fell operations that integrate cut-to-length log production with residue harvesting.

Forest land use discontinuity and northern red oak Quercus rubra introduction change biomass allocation and life strategy of lingonberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea

Background:Multi-purpose use of forests in a sustainable way forces a recognition of how introduction of alien woody species in forests with different land use histories affect native plants other than trees.Lingonberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea is an important understory component of temperate and boreal forests and provider of valuable non-wood forest products.Here we studied effects of land use changes and introduction of Northern red oak Quercus rubra on lingonberry in mesic Scots pine forests(in central Poland).We measured lingonberry cover,height of shoots,biomass of stems and leaves,and fruit productivity.Shoots were collected within 200 research plots located in recent and ancient Scots pine forests,with and without Q.rubra.Results:We found that V.vitis-idaea reached lower cover,aboveground biomass and fruit production in recent than ancient forests and in forests with than without Q.rubra.The fruit production in recent pine forest was only 2%of that reported in ancient pine forest,and V.vitis-idaea did not reproduce generatively in forests with Q.rubra.Biomass and carbon sequestration of V.vitis-idaea in forests with alien(invasive)trees decreased by 75%compared to ancient pine forest.Effects were also clear at the individual shoot level–in less suitable conditions we found taller heights and higher biomass allocation into stems than foliage.Biomass allocation in fruiting and non-fruiting shoots in pine forests was also different–less of the dry biomass of fruiting shoots was allocated to leaves than to stems.Conclusions:In the age of high interest in ecosystem services and discussions about usage of alien tree species as alternatives in forest management,our results clearly indicate disruption of ecosystem services provided by V.vitisidaea in the presence of Q.rubra.Lingonberry benefited from the continuity of forest land use,however,regardless of land-use legacy,alien tree introduction led to decline in abundance of species crucial for ecosystem functioning.Therefore,to maintain valuable native species and for conservation of ecosystem services delivery,we suggest limiting the introduction of Q.rubra in areas with abundant V.vitis-idaea,especially in forests with continuous forest land-use history.