Monika Strömgren

Soil-CO2 flux after patch scarification, harrowing and stump harvest in a hemi-boreal forest

Abstract Stump harvesting is one way of increasing the amount of bioenergy, but little is known about the consequences of tree-stump harvesting on the carbon balance in the forest. Therefore, soil-surface CO2 flux (soil respiration, R s) was determined two years after clear-cutting for common soil disturbances occurring after patch scarification, harrowing and stump harvest in southern Sweden. R s from intact soil was found to be of the same magnitude as emissions from areas of mixed humus, indicating only small effects of disturbance. Elevated mounds produced lower emissions than in the intact soil during the second year despite larger amounts of organic matter, probably due to low soil moisture. The lowest R s was found in soil surfaces with exposed mineral soil. The treatment effects on R s were estimated considering the actual area of different disturbances. During the first year, there was no difference in R s among the treatments, whereas in the second year the flux was 10% higher after harrowing and stump harvesting than after patch scarification, implying that the effects on CO2 flux after stump harvest were comparable to conventional harrowing. However, it is unclear whether this finding basically applies to regions where decomposition is limited by soil moisture during the summer.

Carbon balance of a forest ecosystem after stump harvest

Abstract Stump harvest in forests can cause both reductions of CO2 emissions through a decrease of decomposable substrate (direct effect) and emission increases as a consequence of deep and extensive soil disturbance (indirect effect). Here, the effects of stump harvest on net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) in a former Norway spruce stand in mid Sweden are presented. CO2 exchange was continuously followed by eddy-covariance measurements during the first years after harvest. Differences in NEE from stump harvested and mounded (reference) plots were determined by soil-surface respiration measurements. Respiration from decaying stumps was estimated by a decomposition model. Fluxes indicated a direct effect (decreased efflux) during the first year after harvest that corresponded to the absence of decomposing stumps. During the following years, this emission reduction was increasingly counteracted by an indirect effect (increased efflux) of similar magnitude. This means that the expected emissions caused by extra soil disturbance occur with a certain delay and seem to increase with time. By these emissions, the substitution efficiency of stumps as bioenergy resource is reduced. Furthermore, at a time scale of centuries, instant combustion of stumps leads to a larger contribution to global warming than slow decomposition, because the stump carbon is available earlier in form of greenhouse gas. This is estimated by the time integral of emissions. Thus, despite the surprisingly low initial emissions, the overall substitution efficiency and climate benefits of stump harvest are likely to be small. The long-term consequences of stump harvest for the carbon budget are, however, still uncertain.

Long-term fertilization of a boreal Norway spruce forest increases the temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon mineralization

Boreal ecosystems store one-third of global soil organic carbon (SOC) and are particularly sensitive to climate warming and higher nutrient inputs. Thus, a better description of how forest managements such as nutrient fertilization impact soil carbon (C) and its temperature sensitivity is needed to better predict feedbacks between C cycling and climate. The temperature sensitivity of in situ soil C respiration was investigated in a boreal forest, which has received long-term nutrient fertilization (22 years), and compared with the temperature sensitivity of C mineralization measured in the laboratory. We found that the fertilization treatment increased both the response of soil in situ CO2 effluxes to a warming treatment and the temperature sensitivity of C mineralization measured in the laboratory (Q10). These results suggested that soil C may be more sensitive to an increase in temperature in long-term fertilized in comparison with nutrient poor boreal ecosystems. Furthermore, the fertilization treatment modified the SOC content and the microbial community composition, but we found no direct relationship between either SOC or microbial changes and the temperature sensitivity of C mineralization. However, the relation between the soil C:N ratio and the fungal/bacterial ratio was changed in the combined warmed and fertilized treatment compared with the other treatments, which suggest that strong interaction mechanisms may occur between nutrient input and warming in boreal soils. Further research is needed to unravel into more details in how far soil organic matter and microbial community composition changes are responsible for the change in the temperature sensitivity of soil C under increasing mineral N inputs. Such research would help to take into account the effect of fertilization managements on soil C storage in C cycling numerical models.

Soil-surface CO2 flux during the first 2 years after stump harvesting and site preparation in 14 Swedish forests

ABSTRACT Stumps are a source of renewable energy (bioenergy) that can mitigate climate change. We aimed to determine whether conclusions from recent studies could be generalized for other sites by monitoring the in situ soil respiration (Rs) by a portable soil-respiration system of 14 clear-cut experimental sites during the first 2 years after stump extraction and site preparation. The sites were established all over Sweden in 2013 and 2014 and were subjected to no disturbance (Control), patch scarification (PatchS), disc trenching (DiscT), and stump harvesting (StumpH). During year 1, Rs from sites treated with PatchS and StumpH were 11% and 13% lower than Rs from Control sites. DiscT-treated sites were apt to produce lower Rs than the Control (−9%, p = .09). In the second year, there were no significant differences in Rs between treatments, as no soil disturbance type occurring after stump harvest and site preparation had higher Rs than untreated, intact soil. Our results suggest that soil disturbances resulting from stump harvest and site preparation do not generally increase Rs and thus, from this perspective, provide support for the use of stumps for bioenergy.

Indications that site preparation increases forest ecosystem carbon stocks in the long term

ABSTRACT Mechanical site preparation (MSP) causes a mixing disturbance of the soil, which may increase decomposition of soil organic matter and subsequent carbon (C) dioxide emissions to the atmosphere. MSP also promotes the establishment and growth of tree seedlings, and hence ecosystem C fixation. However, there are uncertainties regarding the net effects of MSP on C stocks at the ecosystem scale. To assess decennial effects of MSP on ecosystem C stocks, C stocks in soil, ground vegetation and trees at three experimental forest sites with Pinus contorta, Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies in Sweden were sampled and measured for ca. 25 years in a control and after three MSP treatments: disc trenching, mounding and ploughing. After 25 years, all of the MSP treatments resulted in larger ecosystem C stocks than the control treatment due to positive effects on the tree biomass C stock. The tree C stock was highest after ploughing, intermediate after mounding or disc trenching and lowest in untreated control plots at all experimental sites. The MSP treatments did not affect the soil C stocks down to 30 cm. We recommend mounding or disc trenching to promote C sequestration as they disturb sites’ ecological, aesthetic and recreational values less than ploughing.

A decision support model for individual tree stump harvesting options based on criteria for economic return and environmental protection

ABSTRACT Based on principles of multi-criteria analysis techniques, a model (MAPStump-E) for decision support on stump harvesting at stand level was developed. The model applies the concept that each stump can be attributed production values (economic) and environmental values (here soil protection and water quality). Individual tree stump information was incorporated directly from the production reports of harvesters and combined with high-resolution Geographical Information System data on topography and soil type to create a production submodel and a soil and water vulnerability submodel (SWM). To test the model, it was applied to a 45-ha study forest in south-central Sweden and the outcome of nine scenarios with varying bioenergy prices and environmental protection levels was examined. Combined analysis of the effects of production and environmental criteria on total dry mass of harvestable stumps at the study site showed that biomass prices had a stronger influence than environmental criteria. Conflict stumps were defined as stumps suitable for harvest based on production criteria, but unsuitable based on soil and water protection criteria. In a “medium” price scenario, the proportion of conflict stumps at the study site ranged from 6% to 18%, depending on protection level set.