Factors contributing to carbon fluxes from bioenergy harvests in the U.S. Northeast: an analysis using field data

With growing interest in wood bioenergy there is uncertainty over greenhouse gas emissions associated with offsetting fossil fuels. Although quantifying postharvest carbon (C) fluxes will require accurate data, relatively few studies have evaluated these using field data from actual bioenergy harves...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global change biology. Bioenergy 2013-05, Vol.5 (3), p.290-305
Main Authors: Mika, Anna M., Keeton, William S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
aboveground carbon
Accounting
Amplification
bioenergy harvest
Biomass
Carbon
Datasets
Emissions
Fluxes
Forest management
fossil fuel offsets
Fossil fuels
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse gases
Harvesting
Landscape
northern hardwoods
Regression analysis
Renewable energy
Silviculture
Skidding
Snags
Statistical analysis
sustainable forestry
whole‐tree harvest
Wood
Wood products
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Summary:With growing interest in wood bioenergy there is uncertainty over greenhouse gas emissions associated with offsetting fossil fuels. Although quantifying postharvest carbon (C) fluxes will require accurate data, relatively few studies have evaluated these using field data from actual bioenergy harvests. We assessed C reductions and net fluxes immediately postharvest from whole‐tree harvests (WTH), bioenergy harvests without WTH, and nonbioenergy harvests at 35 sites across the northeastern United States. We compared the aboveground forest C in harvested with paired unharvested sites, and analyzed the C transferred to wood products and C emissions from energy generation from harvested sites, including indirect emissions from harvesting, transporting, and processing. All harvests reduced live tree C; however, only bioenergy harvests using WTH significantly reduced C stored in snags (P 
ISSN:1757-1693
1757-1707
DOI:10.1111/j.1757-1707.2012.01183.x