Current status of research on the role of forests and forestry in carbon sequestration and storage...

Current status of research Current status of research on the role of forests and forestry on the role of forests and forestry

in carbon sequestration and storage in carbon sequestration and storage in Poland in Poland

Michał Zasada, Tadeusz MoskalikWarsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW

Faculty of ForestryNowoursynowska 159

02-776 Warsaw, [email protected]

Global Landscapes Forum, 16 November 2013, Warsaw, Poland


Introduction

• As the Kioto protocol party, Poland has joined the international efforts to slow down climate change.

• A strategic goal of the country became the implementation of the principles of sustainable development, including expansion of the role of national forest and soil resources in climate change mitigation.

• One of the important measures to achieve this goal is to intensify the research on the level of carbon removal by forest ecosystems and on the role of forest management and forest operations in this area.


Why is the research needed?

• To know the process of biomass production and carbon sequestration

• To describe the influence of various factors on the process• To improve the inventory and reporting standards (e.g. in

the frame of „LULUCF and forestry”)• To provide better knowledge for politicians and the

decision makers.



• Currently – following the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories – Poland (as many other countries) uses a set of numbers (wood volume, wood density, stand productivities, expansion factors, various coefficients) that are far from ideal

– usually approximate values coming from old volume tables, yield tables or research – e.g. the amount of bark, roots, wood density, …

• In addition to that calculations are based on the general country-level data



• Bark– 25% of the inside bark volume – based on old volume tables,

while it can be from 10 to 30, depending on species, age, density, etc.

• Roots– 0.17 (harvesting), 0.23 (conifers) , 0.32 (deciduous) – based on

the IPCC, while it can vary at least from 0.10 to 0.40 depending on species, age and STOCKING level

• Wood density– table with average values for major species, while it varies

significantly even for the same species


Why is the research needed?• Biomass expansion factors

– based in the general data and approximate (average) wood density, while should be at least age-, site- and stocking-dependent

• Fraction of carbon in dry biomass– 0.5 – based on the IPCC average, while it can vary at least from 0.47 to 0.52

depending on species, age, etc.

• Shrubs and other vegetation• Dead wood and forest floor, decomposition rates• Soils, SOC content

– Approximate mapping of Polish forest types to IPCC classes, IPCC default values „modified by experts”

• …

Overview of Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry sector (LULUCF) in EU. Giacomo Grassi. Brussels, 28 January 2010


Current research related to the production of biomass and CO2 sequestration conducted in Poland, especially in the context of carbon-related reporting, as well as highlights directions of their further development.

Polish „forest scientific network"

Polish institutions working on carbon and biomass in forestry

Various universities and other institutions


Examples of research• Carbon balance in biomass of main forest tree species in

Poland (2007-2011)

• Estimation of CO2 streams exchanged between forest ecosystems and atmosphere (2008-2011)

• Ecological consequences of the silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) secondary succession on abandoned farmlands in central Poland (2010-2013)

• Wood as a renewable energy source (ongoing)• …• …


Carbon balance…


Carbon balance…• 8 tree species (pine, spruce, fir, larch, oak, beech, birch,

alder), 12 shrub species• almost 300 research sites, representing different age

classes and habitats, as well as economic meaning of analysed tree species

• Aboveground and belowground biomass• The use of remote sensing methods for biomass

estimation

2

fot. A.M. Jagodziński

fot. A.M. Jagodziński

Biomass of roots

Landsat TM – resolution 30 m Ikonos MS – resolution 4 m

Ikonos Pan – resolution 1 m Airborne image 1:26 000 (~0,5 m)

Satellite and airborne images


Estimation of CO2 streams…


Estimation of CO2 streams…

• Measurements of CO2 fluxes using eddy covariance method over Tuczno forest in Poland


Eddy covariance method• Method for measuring vertical turbulent fluxes within

atmosphere to determine exchange rates of gases over various ecosystems, extensively used for verification and tuning of climate and ecological models.

Eddy covariance system: ultrasonic anemometer and infrared gas analyser


Eddy covariance method

Olejnik et al. 2011. Estimation of net carbon exchange between the forest ecosystem and the atmosphere. Technical Report for Polish State Forests


Ecological consequences…


Ecological consequences…• To model biomass of various pools (stem, branch, foliage)

and the total biomass of birch on post-agricultural lands• To assess biomass dynamics (changes of biomass and

changes in allocation over time)

Photo: Dariusz Tupaj

Photo: Karol Bronisz

Changes in share of biomass components with ageChanges in share of biomass components with age

Zasada M. et al. Biomass dynamics in silver birch stands on post-agricultural lands in Poland

0

10

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30

40

50

60

70

80

Stem b. Branch b. Foliage b. Root b.

I (1-3)

II (4-6)

III (7-10)

IV (>10)

%

Share of various components in age classesShare of various components in age classes

Zasada M. et al. Biomass dynamics in silver birch stands on post-agricultural lands in Poland

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

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90

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I (1-3) II (4-6) III (7-10) IV (>10)

Root b.

Foliage b.

Branch b.

Stem b.

%


Wood as a renewable energy…


Demand for energy


Technological problems

VTT 2004

Bundling of logging residues


Logistic problems

Timberjack Energy Technology


Energy efficiency and carbon footprint

• Costs• Energy consumption• Energy balance

• CO2 emission

• CO2 balance

• …


International projects EU-FORMIT

• FORMIT aims to develop forest management scenarios for carbon sequestration in Europe, including mitigation measures and management strategies for different regions, and accounting for trade-offs with other forest functions

• Mitigation encompasses carbon storage in forests, carbon in forest products, and substitution of fossil fuel. Stand and forest type estimates will be scaled up to a European-wide assessment using available forest inventory data


International projects EU-FORMIT

• Based on current knowledge, the expected impact of climate change on tree growth and forest functioning will be assessed, accounting for site differences and regional climate change.

• In quantifying and analysing the trade-offs between carbon mitigation strategies and other forest functions, we will involve a user panel with representatives of major forest management agencies in Europe.

• The panel will also provide input for a multicriteria analysis to identify consistent and flexible scenarios for forest management.


Thank you for your attention

Questions? Comments? [email protected]

Current status of research on the role of forests and forestry in carbon sequestration and storage...

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