Optimization Forest Thinning Measures for Carbon Budget in a Mixed Pine-Oak Stand of the Qingling Mountains, China: A Case Study

Hou, Lin; Li, Zhe; Luo, Chao; Bai, Longlong; Dong, Ningning

doi:10.3390/f7110272

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The thinning residual removal rate had a larger effect than thinning intensity when considering the ecosystem productivity [34]. Specifically, the lower thinning intensity and higher thinning residual removal rate are beneficial to the ecosystem productivity [35]. This study showed that other stand attributes, including size, density, and species composition, play an important role in determining aboveground carbon content, which is consistent with previous studies [36,37].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

The Carbon Benefit of Thinned Wood for Bioenergy in Taiwan

Chiou

Lin

Liu

2019

Forests

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Forest thinning is a way to make room for the growth of remaining trees, and the thinned wood can serve as a fuel for bioenergy in order to combat climate change. Using thinned wood for bioenergy can substitute for fossil fuel energy, resulting in potential carbon benefit. Since not all thinned wood can be transported out of the forest for processing, the extraction ratio (extraction volume/thinning volume) is an important variable for determining the net carbon benefit. This study investigated 52 forest-thinning sites in Taiwan. The extraction ratio was estimated to explore the benefit of thinned wood used as bioenergy. Cross analysis was adopted to find the relationships between site/species attributes and extraction ratio. The factors included age class, thinning method, land use classification, and species. Key variables included thinning volume, extraction volume, and extraction ratio. Statistical analysis was then applied to identify the significant differences. The analysis shows that the extraction ratio of thinned wood is 57.12%. The research outcomes could provide valuable information for green-energy policy making in Taiwan.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

The Carbon Benefit of Thinned Wood for Bioenergy in Taiwan

Chiou

Lin

Liu

2019

Forests

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“…Given its dominance, red maple's lower leaf dark respiration rate could explain why ecosystem respiration declined even though soil respiration, overwhelmingly the largest source of respiratory CO 2 , did not differ between control and treatment forests. Rather than increasing NEP by enhancing canopy complexity as we hypothesized, the mortality of slowly growing aspen and birch appears to have competitively "released" more vigorous mid-latesuccessional species, akin to a moderate canopy thinning that enhances access to growth-limiting resources (Campbell et al 2009, Matsushita et al 2015, Hou et al 2016.…”

Section: Confronting the Core Forest Accelerated Succession Experiments Hypothesis With Observationsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Disturbance‐accelerated succession increases the production of a temperate forest

Gough

Bohrer

Hardiman

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

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Many secondary deciduous forests of eastern North America are approaching a transition in which mature early‐successional trees are declining, resulting in an uncertain future for this century‐long carbon (C) sink. We initiated the Forest Accelerated Succession Experiment (FASET) at the University of Michigan Biological Station to examine the patterns and mechanisms underlying forest C cycling following the stem girdling‐induced mortality of >6,700 early‐successional Populus spp. (aspen) and Betula papyrifera (paper birch). Meteorological flux tower‐based C cycling observations from the 33‐ha treatment forest have been paired with those from a nearby unmanipulated forest since 2008. Following over a decade of observations, we revisit our core hypothesis: that net ecosystem production (NEP) would increase following the transition to mid‐late‐successional species dominance due to increased canopy structural complexity. Supporting our hypothesis, NEP was stable, briefly declined, and then increased relative to the control in the decade following disturbance; however, increasing NEP was not associated with rising structural complexity but rather with a rapid 1‐yr recovery of total leaf area index as mid‐late‐successional Acer, Quercus, and Pinus assumed canopy dominance. The transition to mid‐late‐successional species dominance improved carbon‐use efficiency (CUE = NEP/gross primary production) as ecosystem respiration declined. Similar soil respiration rates in control and treatment forests, along with species differences in leaf physiology and the rising relative growth rates of mid‐late‐successional species in the treatment forest, suggest changes in aboveground plant respiration and growth were primarily responsible for increases in NEP. We conclude that deciduous forests transitioning from early to middle succession are capable of sustained or increased NEP, even when experiencing extensive tree mortality. This adds to mounting evidence that aging deciduous forests in the region will function as C sinks for decades to come.

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“…It is because the studied trees are still young and thinning facilitates growing of the individual trees. Thinning promotes growth of the remaining individual trees by reducing competition and increasing light and nutrient availability 29 . In contrast, thinning still results in some reduction of carbon stock so it takes a period of time to recover.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thinning Effects on Biomass and Carbon Stock for Young Taiwania Plantations

Lin

Chiu

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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Forests play an important role as carbon sinks by sequestrating carbon through photosynthesis. Thinning treatments have large impacts on carbon storage, in addition to strengthening quality and quantity of plantations. This study analyzed the effects of different thinning treatments on carbon stocks in both individual trees and stands of Taiwania (Taiwania cryptomerioides) plantations. Repeated field measurements and allometric equations were used to calculate total C storage and sequestration rates of live trees. The results of this study showed that the total carbon stock of stands with thinning treatments was less than that of the non-thinned stands. The non-thinned 23-year old stands had an estimated carbon stock of 96.8 Mg C ha−1, which is higher than the carbon stock found in either medium- (84.1 Mg C ha−1) or heavily-thinned (74.7 Mg C ha−1) treatment plots of the same age. If the objective of Taiwania plantations was to store large amounts of carbon in the young growth stage, without regard to the initial rate of storage, a better option is no-thinning. However, the medium thinned forests seem to be more promising for carbon sequestration than the no-thinned forests if a longer period is considered.

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Optimization Forest Thinning Measures for Carbon Budget in a Mixed Pine-Oak Stand of the Qingling Mountains, China: A Case Study

Cited by 9 publications

References 37 publications

The Carbon Benefit of Thinned Wood for Bioenergy in Taiwan

The Carbon Benefit of Thinned Wood for Bioenergy in Taiwan

Disturbance‐accelerated succession increases the production of a temperate forest

Thinning Effects on Biomass and Carbon Stock for Young Taiwania Plantations

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