1. Tomas Lundmark SLU Sweden
Active forest management and its role in climate change mitigation
Potential Roles of Nordic Forestry in the Context of Climate
Change Mitigation
Tomas Lundmark
SLU
Sweden

2. The Scandinavian model
0.7 %
5 %
10 %

3. Broader insights on forest management in relation to carbon balance and bioeconomy
The importance of management
Potential to mitigate climate change
Potential to contribute to bio-economy

4. Unmanaged Heterogeneous structure Old-growth Natural disturbances Lots of dead wood Natural regeneration
Managed Even-aged stands Even age class distribution Rotations adapted to ”maximize” mean annual production Silviculture

5. Net Biome Production (NBP)
Net gain or loss of carbon from a region. NBP is equal to the Net Ecosystem Production minus the carbon lost due to a disturbance (e.g., a forest fire or a forest harvest).

6. Forest Mitigation Strategies: Two competing positions
Stop logging …..
… or use wood?
Depends on you system perspective

7. Strategies to mitigate climate change
… reduce emissions?
Forest ecosystem
“carbon stock”
Bioenergy
Fossil energy
No difference of CO2
Hillevi
Forest products
Other products
Consumption

8. Strategies to mitigate climate change
…maximize carbon stock in the forests
Forest ecosystem
Bioenergy
Fossil energy
Forest products
Other products
Consumption

9. Strategies to mitigate climate change
… or maximize forest growth to increase consumption of “CO2-neutral products”?
Forest ecosystem
Bioenergy
Fossil energy
Forest products
Other products
Consumption

10. Mitigation Options in the Forest Sector
Increase stand-level carbon density
Increase landscape-level carbon density
Increase (or maintain) forest area
Increase C stored in products,
Reduce or avoid fossil emissions through product substitution and through bioenergy use
A sustainably managed forest can contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the atmosphere in several ways: through the carbon sink into the forest biomass and soil, the increasing storage of carbon in harvested wood products and the use of wood as a substitute for fossil fuels and energy-intensive materials. Wood biomass from sustainably managed forests has generally been considered to be “carbon neutral”, in that its use for bioenergy has zero net carbon emissions since the emissions released in its utilisation for energy are subsequently captured in forest re-growth [2]. This view has recently been challenged by stand-level lifecycle analyses suggesting that the use of wood for biofuels will result in a drawdown of the forest stock and thereby a net reduction in the carbon captured in forests [3–5]. In contrast, Poudel et al. [6] showed both short- and long-term carbon balance benefits due to silvicultural practices to increase forest growth on the landscape level. The opposing views on the climate change mitigation effects of forestry and the use of forest-based products seem to relate to the temporal and spatial system boundaries adopted in the different analyses.

11. The concept of climate change mitigation efficiency (CCME)
CCME of 1 m3 wood (present use) 470 kg CO2
CCME of 1 m3 (more solid wood
and bioenergy) >700 kg CO2

12. Long term climate benefit of present forest management and product use in Sweden
Reduced or avoided emissions in Sweden in the range of million ton CO2-eq per year
Reduced or avoided emissions in other countries in the range of 45 million ton CO2-eq per year
Global effect ≈ 60 million ton CO2-eq per year

13. Conclusions
Design of climate change mitigation portfolios in the forest sector should account for changes in C in forest ecosystems, in harvested wood products, and for substitution benefits, relative to a base case.
Climate change mitigation efficiency varies among silvicultural activities, product use strategies and by region, and no single strategy is best everywhere.
Time perspective is crucial.
A forest that is not growing more than today can not make further climate benefit.

14. Conclusions
Forest growth and the use of forest products is more important than carbon storage in the forest in the long term
if you do not believe in breakthroughs that solves the energy issue
The “mitigation” effect can increase significantly in the Nordic and Baltic countries if measures are taken to increase sustainable harvest levels
Forest management matters !!

15. Some final remarks increased forest growth = increased climate benefit
increased forest growth means opportunities for increased sustainable yields
increased sustainable yields mean increased opportunities for the bio-economy to develop
there is much to be gained by a more active forestry
forest owners to more actively than today
contribute to climate change mitigation