Posted on Sep 21, 2023
Where can forest treatments help people and keep the most carbon inside trees?
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When forests burn, there is a specific type of environmental harm that might not immediately come to mind: Carbon stored in the trees is released into the atmosphere.
A new study has found locations in Washington state where protecting trees could have the biggest impact on carbon storage and community safety.
“When fire burns through an area, it releases a large part of that carbon by burning the tree up," said Michael Case, a forest ecologist with the Nature Conservancy.
The Nature Conservancy, the University of Montana, and the U.S. Forest Service found forests in Central and Eastern Washington, California, and Arizona are hot spots — they pose the biggest risk of burning and leaking the most carbon into the atmosphere.
Case says prioritizing thinning and burning stands within these hotspots could lower wildfire risks, and help with carbon storage.
A new study has found locations in Washington state where protecting trees could have the biggest impact on carbon storage and community safety.
“When fire burns through an area, it releases a large part of that carbon by burning the tree up," said Michael Case, a forest ecologist with the Nature Conservancy.
The Nature Conservancy, the University of Montana, and the U.S. Forest Service found forests in Central and Eastern Washington, California, and Arizona are hot spots — they pose the biggest risk of burning and leaking the most carbon into the atmosphere.
Case says prioritizing thinning and burning stands within these hotspots could lower wildfire risks, and help with carbon storage.
Where can forest treatments help people and keep the most carbon inside trees?
Posted from kuow.org
Firefighting
State of Washington
Environment
Climate Change
Safety
Posted 8 mo ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."A journal article co-written by Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) researchers explains the use of an internationally-accepted measurement standard called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). It maps the life of a product holistically from birth to death, or cradle-to-grave, and analyzes and quantifies how much of an environmental impact or burden a product will have on the planet from its extraction, manufacture, use and disposal. Additionally, LCA can equate how much carbon is stored versus produced during a product’s manufacture.
Through the use of LCA, researchers found that with sustainable forest management, forests and wood products storing carbon will have the greatest potential to lessen climate change impacts. LCA studies also found that cross-laminated timber buildings have a lower environmental footprint (especially from greenhouse gas emissions) and store more carbon than buildings constructed from non-timber materials.
Regardless of cut size, wood stores carbon, even at the microscopic scale. For example, nanocellulose is made by breaking wood or plant fibers down to nano-scale rods and filaments. Nanocellulose can be produced sustainably, has a low environmental impact, and is biodegradable. Adding nanocellulose to existing products like concrete or plastic can reduce carbon emissions because nanocellulose has been shown to make materials and products perform better, so less material is needed to do the same job."...
..."A journal article co-written by Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) researchers explains the use of an internationally-accepted measurement standard called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). It maps the life of a product holistically from birth to death, or cradle-to-grave, and analyzes and quantifies how much of an environmental impact or burden a product will have on the planet from its extraction, manufacture, use and disposal. Additionally, LCA can equate how much carbon is stored versus produced during a product’s manufacture.
Through the use of LCA, researchers found that with sustainable forest management, forests and wood products storing carbon will have the greatest potential to lessen climate change impacts. LCA studies also found that cross-laminated timber buildings have a lower environmental footprint (especially from greenhouse gas emissions) and store more carbon than buildings constructed from non-timber materials.
Regardless of cut size, wood stores carbon, even at the microscopic scale. For example, nanocellulose is made by breaking wood or plant fibers down to nano-scale rods and filaments. Nanocellulose can be produced sustainably, has a low environmental impact, and is biodegradable. Adding nanocellulose to existing products like concrete or plastic can reduce carbon emissions because nanocellulose has been shown to make materials and products perform better, so less material is needed to do the same job."...
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Holy cow! actual forestry needs to be done to properly maintain forests? Kind of like what conservatives have been saying needed done for decades. Funny how that works.
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