Wood Use and Forest Management for Carbon Sequestration in Community Forestry in Sierra Juárez, Mexico

Abstract

Forest managers and policy-makers are being encouraged to incorporate carbon sequestration as a criterion for decision-making. This is a great challenge for small-scale forestry where the conspicuous lack of practical knowledge available for managers prevents the implementation of criteria to promote carbon sequestration. The carbon simulation model CO2FIX combined with local data could provide valuable information for C sequestration in these small-scale forestry systems. The research reported here focuses on community forestry located in the Juarez Mountain Range (Oaxaca State, Mexico), and analyzes the influences of forest management and wood-use (20 scenarios based on five forest management plans and four wood-use strategies) on the changes of C stock (biomass C, soil organic C, products C and fuelwood C) over time. The comparison of the whole stocks to reference results show that group-selection, based on an uneven-aged forest management system involving small patches, has only about half the C benefit relative to clear-cutting harvesting. A forest management strategy focused on oak logwood has a lower C benefit (70 %), and a forest management strategy focused on oak fuelwood has a higher C benefit (120 %) relative to the average of the studied wooduse strategies. Thus, in the study area forest managers and policy-makers who wish to mitigate climate change should increase the rotation period from 40 to 50 years in clear-cutting areas, continue with 40 years in group-selection areas, and promote the use of oak for bioenergy.

A trait-based approach to both forestry and timber building can synchronize forest harvest and resilience

“…The wood-building industry has a long history of influencing silvicultural and management practices, promoting economic profitability and forestry efficiency through clearcutting, monoculture plantation, or silvicultural interventions that favored only a few merchantable tree species and the simplification of forests ( 5 ). Additionally, the rapidly increasing use of wood in tall construction and increased mechanization of forestry operations have accelerated the supply and demand for higher timber volumes, further exacerbating the simplification of forests and impacting everything from forest structure and composition to carbon and soil dynamics ( 6 , 7 ). Timber products, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT), are one example of such high wood volume, monospecies wood products being promoted and advertised by the wood construction industry as a viable way to reduce the high emissions and carbon footprint of construction ( 8 ).…”

Reservas de carbono en sistemas agroforestales con café (C. arabica L.) ante el cambio climático: caso México

“…En México se ha generado información sobre proyecciones de las reservas de C en reforestaciones de bosques templados del norte del país (Návar Cháidez et al, 2005), así como en plantaciones forestales del estado de Oaxaca (Álvarez & Rubio, 2016). Sin embargo, existe escasa información sobre proyecciones de las reservas de C y su comportamiento bajo escenarios de cambio climático en sistemas cafetaleros (Ruiz- García et al, 2020).…”