Estimating global land system impacts of timber plantations using MAgPIE 4.3.5

• Published in: Geoscientific Model Development 2021-10, Vol.14 (10), p.6467-6494
• Main Authors: Mishra, Abhijeet, Humpenöder, Florian, Dietrich, Jan Philipp, Bodirsky, Benjamin Leon, Sohngen, Brent, P. O. Reyer, Christopher, Lotze-Campen, Hermann, Popp, Alexander
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 21st century; Agricultural commodities; Agricultural land; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Analysis; Biological competition; Carbon dioxide; Carbon dioxide emissions; Carbon uptake; Competition; Deforestation; Demand; Dynamics; Environmental impact; Food; Forest ecosystems; Forestry; Forests; Harvest; Land resources; Land use; Livestock; Livestock feeds; Mathematical programming; Modelling; Modular systems; Optimization; Plantations; Regrowth; Resources; Simulation; Timber; Trends; Uptake; Vegetation
• ISSN: 1991-9603; 1991-959X; 1991-962X; 1991-9603; 1991-962X
• DOI: 10.5194/gmd-14-6467-2021

Out of 1150 Mha (million hectares) of forest designated primarily for production purposes in 2020, plantations accounted for 11 % (131 Mha) of this area and fulfilled more than 33 % of the global industrial roundwood demand. However, adding additional timber plantations to meet increasing timber demand intensifies competition for scarce land resources between different land uses such as food, feed, livestock and timber production. Despite the significance of plantations with respect to roundwood production, their importance in meeting the long-term timber demand and the implications of plantation expansion for overall land-use dynamics have not been studied in detail, in particular regarding the competition for land between agriculture and forestry in existing land-use models.