Imitated Whole Tree Harvesting Show Negligible Effect on Economic Value of Spruce Stands
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Article Imitated Whole Tree Harvesting Show Negligible Effect on Economic Value of Spruce Stands Iveta Desaine, Annija Karklin¯ , a * , Roberts Matisons , Anna Pastare, Andis Adamoviˇcs,Zane Lıbiete¯ and Aris¯ Jansons Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, 111 Rigas Street, LV-2169 Salaspils, Latvia; [email protected] (I.D.); [email protected] (R.M.); [email protected] (A.P.); [email protected] (A.A.); [email protected] (Z.L.); [email protected] (A.J.)¯ * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +371-263-145-29 Abstract: The increased removal of forest-derived biomass with whole-tree harvesting (WTH) has raised concerns about the long-term productivity and sustainability of forest ecosystems. If true, this effect needs to be factored in the assessment of long-term feasibility to implement such a drastic forest management measure. Therefore, the economic performance of five experimental plantations in three different forest types, where in 1971 simulated WTH event occurred, was compared with pure, planted and conventionally managed (CH) Norway spruce stands of similar age and growing conditions. Potential incomes of CH and WTH stands were based on timber prices for period 2014–2020. However, regarding the economics of root and stump biomass utilization, they were not included in the estimates. In any given price level, the difference of internal rate of return between the forest types and selected managements were from 2.5% to 6.2%. Therefore, Norway spruce stands demonstrate good potential of independence regardless of stump removal at the previous rotation. Keywords: Norway spruce; whole-tree harvesting; full biomass removal; stump harvesting; hemiboreal forest Citation: Desaine, I.; Karklin¯ , a, A.; Matisons, R.; Pastare, A.; Adamoviˇcs, A.; L¯ıbiete, Z.; Jansons, A.¯ Imitated Whole Tree Harvesting Show 1. Introduction Negligible Effect on Economic Value The importance of forest-derived biomass has increased over the last decades [1]. Forests 2021 12 of Spruce Stands. , , 841. Therefore, bioenergy sources such as forest-residues have potential as partial alternatives https://doi.org/10.3390/f12070841 for conventional fossil fuels [2]. The use of biomass for energy production also reduces carbon emissions [3,4]. However, the increased removal of biomass from forest stands with Received: 13 May 2021 whole tree harvesting (WTH) raises uncertainties about the long-term productivity of forest Accepted: 23 June 2021 Published: 25 June 2021 ecosystems [1,4–9]. Compared to WTH, conventional harvesting (CH) has a lower impact on site productivity in long-term, mainly because the nutrient-rich components such as Picea abies Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral foliage and twigs are left in the forest stand [1]. Norway spruce ( (L.) Karst.) is with regard to jurisdictional claims in an economically important tree species which covers extensive areas [10] and has high published maps and institutional affil- potential as a source of renewable energy in Northern Europe [11]. Under such conditions, iations. it is crucial to understand responses of the species to intensifying management, including WTH and particularly its effects on the economic value of forests. The application of WTH might affect soil nutrient dynamics and sustainability of forest ecosystems [12] via changes in soil structure and biochemical cycles [6]. The decrease of soil carbon and nitrogen pools can significantly reduce tree growth, and hence accumulation of Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. biomass [13,14]. However, the effect of WTH can differ regionally and locally [1,5,15,16], This article is an open access article for instance in boreal forests no or slight effect of WTH on seedling growth has been distributed under the terms and observed [8,12,15,17]. On the other hand, 10 to 20 years after a WTH event, some negative conditions of the Creative Commons effects on tree growth have been reported [8]. Significant growth reduction for Sitka Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// spruce has been reported [18], and growth loss occurs if a high amount of nutrients has creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ been removed from the stand, particularly in nutrient-poor sites [5]. Accordingly, local 4.0/). information is necessary to evaluate the potential for application of WTH as a source for Forests 2021, 12, 841. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12070841 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/forests Forests 2021, 12, 841 2 of 6 additional biomass. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of WTH on economic performance of Norway spruce stands in hemiboreal forests in Latvia. We hypothesized that WTH might have reduced the growth and economic performance of Norway spruce stands growing on mesotrophic soils, compared to conventionally managed stands. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Site Description Five experimental plantations of Norway spruce located in the eastern part of Latvia (56◦680 N, 25◦990 E) growing on dry mineral (Hylocomiosa), wet mineral (Myrtilloso-sphagnosa) and drained mineral (Myrtilloso mel) soils were studied. The plantations were established in 1971, in an area where, after clearcutting, stumps with the top layers of soil and nutrient- rich residues were pushed away with a bulldozer. The experimental design was the same as previously described for Scots pine [19]. As a result, areas of up to 0.5 ha with heavily scarified bare soil and practically absent residual woody biomass were formed. The areas were reforested using two-year-old bare rooted seedlings of Norway spruce raised in a local nursery; the spacing between seedlings was 1 × 2 m. Mechanized plough was used for soil preparation (harrowing). Accordingly, such management and soil erosion resulted in soil depletion [20]. Such effects were previously evidenced by the ground cover vegetation under oligotrophic conditions [19,21]. After reforestation, mechanical weed control was administered for three years; no other management was performed. In each of the experimental plantations, two circular sampling plots of 500 m2 (r = 12.62◦ m) were established. Within each sampling plot, diameter at breast height (DBH) of all living trees of DBH ≥ 6.1 cm was measured. In addition, within each sampling plot, tree height of 10 to 15 living trees of different canopy status were measured with accuracy of 0.2 m. For comparison, data from the National Forest Inventory (NFI) were acquired. Data on pure, planted and conventionally managed Norway spruce stands of similar age, growing in comparable conditions across Latvia were selected. Data on 68 plots were selected in total. The NFI uses the same methodology (sampling plots and measurements), as the experimental plantations were sampled. 2.2. Data Analysis For each tree in the sampling plots of the experimental plantations, height was esti- mated (extrapolated) based on DBH according to Näslund’s and Gaffrey’s approach [22]. The tree volume with tops was calculated according to a local equation [23], based on the measured DBH and the estimated tree height as follows: v = 2.3106 × 10−4 × H0.78193 × DBH0.34175×lg(H)+1.18811 (1) where H is height of tree (m) and DBH is stem diameter at breast height (cm). The assortment outcome from each harvested tree was calculated using a local model [24]. The calculation of the economic performance of CH and simulated WTH stands was based on timber prices for the period 2014–2020 (Table1). Considering the local specifics regarding the economics of root and stump biomass utilization [25], they were not included in the estimates. Table 1. The assortments by diameter at the top end and monetary value during the period from 2014 to 2020. 3 Diameter at the Price, EUR m Assortment Length, m Top End, cm 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Sawlog A 3.0 26.0 73 69 67 68 76 74 64 Sawlog B 3.0 18.0 71 67 60 66 74 70 60 Sawlog C 3.0 14.0 50 49 56 46 55 53 43 Pulpwood 3.0 6.0 36 30 31 39 55 44 25 Energy-wood 3.0 3.0 22 22 22 21 28 30 21 Forests 2021, 12, 841 3 of 6 For each tree based on DBH, incomes were calculated as: 1.013 × 0.958 + (−0.112) × DBH0.203 A = (2) 0.958 + DBH0.203 where A is the sawlog assortment relative incomes (%) and DBH is the steam diameter at breast height (cm). Potential income from the forest stand on ha was calculated using following equation: NWV = Iha − H (3) where Iha is the potential income from the selected forest type on ha; T is the total timber value per sample plot; and S is the area of the sample plot in m2. For the calculation of net wood value (NWV), the following equation was used: (NWV − E) NPV = (4) (1 + r)n where Iha is the income from harvesting and H is the harvesting costs (according to the data from Central Statistics Bureau of Latvia). Income and costs were included in the analysis for calculation of net present value (NPV), which was calculated as the discount value of the expected net cash flow: (NWV − E) NPV = (5) (1 + r)n where E is the establishment costs from 2014 to 2020 year; r is the discount rate (3% and 5%); and n is the number of years (48). The establishment costs were acquired from the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. To estimate the profitability of the WTH event, the internal rate of return (IRR) was calculated using the following equation: NPVa IRR = ra + (rb − ra) (6) NPVa − NPVb where ra is the lower discount rate (3%); rb is the higher discount rate (5%); NPVa is NPV at ra; and NPVb is NPV at rb discount rate. Linear mixed effect models were used to assess the effect of management (CH or WTH) on the economic indicators and stand productivity (basal area and wood volume).