Harvested wood products and carbon sink in a young beech high forest

Pilli, P; Valle, D Dalla; Anfodillo, A; Penzo, Pierpaolo; Fontanella, F

doi:10.3832/efor0510-0050057

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 18 publications

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“…In general, results show that in coppices which have passed the normal rotation age, thinning increases stand stability, reduces shoot mortality, maintains a "regular" stand structure, increases growth both of individual shoots and total stand volume. Recently, conversion to high forest of beech coppices iForest (2009) has also been examined in relation to the carbon cycle and the Kyoto Protocol (Pilli et al 2008). In many public properties in the eastern Alps and in the Northern Apennines, beech stands are currently in the transition stage from coppice to high forest.…”

Section: Coppice Conversion To High Forestmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure and management of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests in Italy

Nocentini¹

2009

iForest

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© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionBeech forests (Fagus sylvatica L.) characterise the landscape of many mountain areas in Italy, from the Alps down to the southern regions of Campania, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily in the Mediterranean area (Fig. 1). According to the National Forest Inventory (INFC 2005), the total area covered by beech in Italy is 1 042 129 hectares, which corresponds to 9.4% of the country's total forest area. This area includes 1 035 103 ha of beech forests and 7 023 ha of "other wooded land" (according to the FRA2000 definitionTab. 1).Over the centuries wood from beech forests, mainly for firewood and charcoal as well as timber for building and furniture, has been a fundamental resource for people living in mountain areas. Thus intensive use has significantly the modified distribution, composition and structure of beech stands all over the country.Economic and social changes in the last decades have brought about changes in the forestry sector in Italy, which, in turn, have impacted forests and forest management. Beech forests have not been immune to these changes and in some ways represent an interesting case study on the changing perspectives of forest management in the face of changing environmental and socio economic conditions. This paper analyses the relationship between stand structure and the management history of beech forests in Italy. The aim is to outline possible strategies for the sustainable management of these forest formations. Distribution of beech forests in ItalyBeech forests are present in all the regions except for Sardinia (Tab. 1). In the Alps, beech generally forms pure stands above 1000 m altitude in areas with relatively low rainfall, while it grows at around 600-700 m in more humid areas.On the Apennine mountains beech usually grows above 900-1000 m. Beech forests are more widespread on the northern slopes and where rain and fog maintain moist air conditions. On the sunnier and warmer southern slopes, the lower vegetation limit for beech tends to move higher (Hofmann 1991, Pignatti 1998 Beech forests characterise the landscape of many mountain areas in Italy, from the Alps to the southern regions. This paper analyses the relationship between stand structure and the management history of beech in Italy. The aim is to outline possible strategies for the sustainable management of these forest formations. The present structure of beech forests in Italy is the result of many interacting factors. According to the National Forest Inventory, more than half the total area covered by beech has a long history of coppicing. High forests cover 34% of the total beech area and 13% have complex structures which have not been classified in regular types. Coppices are very widespread mainly because of the past, but also present importance of firewood and charcoal for mountain populations. A particular type of beech coppice, the selection coppice (or uneven aged coppice), was traditional in Tuscany and in some alpine areas. Starting from the fifties, following th...

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Section: Coppice Conversion To High Forestmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure and management of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests in Italy

Nocentini¹

2009

iForest

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Carbon credit accounting: the model CO2FIX v. 3.1 applied to a beech stand under Forest Management in southern Italy

Scarfò¹,

Mercurio²

2009

Forest@

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Introduzione Le foreste hanno un ruolo importante nel ciclo glo-bale del carbonio (C-IPCC 2007). Inoltre la biomassa presente negli alberi dei nostri boschi rappresenta, assieme a quella nel suolo, la frazione più importan-te di anidride carbonica (CO 2) fissata negli ecosistemi terrestri (Bravo 2007). Il C circola fra gli oceani, la biosfera e l'atmosfera. Le attività umane come lo sfruttamento di combustibili fossili e la deforestazio-ne influenzano la concentrazione di CO 2 nell'atmo-sfera (IPCC 2001). Se ne deduce che una stima preci-sa della biomassa arborea (fitomassa) è essenziale per poter valutare il contributo delle foreste al bilan-cio planetario del C (Pilli et al. 2006). La quantifica-zione del C in foresta deve essere fatta tenendo conto dei 5 pools indicati dall'United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC 2005): biomassa epigea, biomassa ipogea, legno morto, lettiera e C or-ganico nel suolo (SOC, Soil Organic Carbon). La con-centrazione di C nel suolo è più elevata che nell'at-mosfera e ciò indica l'importanza di questo pool di C. Inoltre, vi sono studi, come quello di Tonolli & Sal-vagni (2007) in Italia, che confermano, se pur con un certo margine di incertezza, il contributo quasi pari-tetico fra il SOC e la biomassa epigea. Nonostante ciò, a causa delle ancora scarse informazioni riguar-do al SOC, è possibile considerare nullo il contributo allo scambio di C di questo pool ai fini della contabi-lità del Protocollo di Kyoto, purché si dimostri che esso non rappresenti una fonte di emissione di CO 2 in atmosfera. La capacità delle foreste di fissare la CO 2 atmosferica è fondamentale sia ai fini della co-noscenza e della gestione degli ecosistemi, sia per gli aspetti economici che da essi derivano (e.g., mercato dei crediti di carbonio disciplinato dal PK). La conta-bilizzazione delle foreste come sink di C è una sfida, Forest@ 6: 215-228 (2009) 215 Abstract: Carbon credit accounting: the model CO2FIX v. 3.1 applied to a beech stand under Forest Management in southern Italy. Forests play an important role in the mitigation of the effects of climate change thanks to their ability to sequestrate carbon dioxide from atmosphere. The assessment of the carbon fixed by forest ecosystems (stocks) and the carbon accumulated over a period of time (sinks) is focal for environmental protection scopes, as well as for accessing the carbon credits market. The main purpose of this work was to estimate (using the ecosystem-level model CO2FIX v. 3.1) the equivalent carbon dioxide (Mg CO 2 eq ha-1 y-1) fixed by a beech stand located in southern Italy during the First Commitment Period (2008-2012) under Forest Management (art. 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol). The model was applied over a forest district using local data obtained from both literature and field analysis. Over the simulated period, sink values of 9.77 Mg C ha-1 (1.95 ± 0.91 Mg C ha-1 y-1 on average) were obtained, corresponding to an accountable value of 5.36 Mg CO 2 eq ha-1 and according to the possibility to accredit only the 15% of the ...

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Harvested wood products and carbon sink in a young beech high forest

Cited by 2 publications

References 18 publications

Structure and management of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests in Italy

Structure and management of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests in Italy

Carbon credit accounting: the model CO2FIX v. 3.1 applied to a beech stand under Forest Management in southern Italy

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