Aim of the study: To review and acknowledge the value of carbon sequestration by forest management in the Mediterranean area.Material and methods: We review the main effects of forest management by comparing the effects of silvicultural systems (even-aged vs. uneven-aged stands, coppice systems, agroforestry systems), silvicultural options (thinning, rotation period, species composition), afforestation, harvesting, fire impact or effects of shrub layer on carbon sequestration in the Mediterranean area.Main results: We illustrate as forest management can clearly improve forest carbon sequestration amounts. We conclude that forest management is an effective way to maintain and enhance high carbon sequestration rates in order to cope with climate change and provision of ecosystem services. We also think that although much effort has been put into this topic research, there are still certain gaps that must be dealt with to increase our scientific knowledge and in turn transfer this knowledge to forest practitioners in order to achieve sustainable management aimed at mitigating climate change.Research highlights: It is important to underline the importance of forests in the carbon cycle as this role can be enhanced by forest managers through sustainable forest management. The effects of different management options or disturbances can be critical as regards mitigating climate change. Understanding the effects of forest management is even more important in the Mediterranean area, given that the current high climatic variability together with historical human exploitation and disturbance events make this area more vulnerable to the effects of climate change

https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/6240150.pdf

Forest management and carbon sequestration in the Mediterranean region: A review

The cultivation of short rotation coppices (SRC) on agricultural land represents an economically and environmentally promising option for sustainable provision of bioenergy. Not only the further development of efficient harvesting machinery, but also the development of harvest-optimised storage systems are necessary to implement cost-efficient cultivation and use strategies for SRC in practice. The storage of fine wood chips from poplar harvest with a forage harvester results in high dry matter losses of up to 25%. Tractor-mounted mower-chippers can harvest coarse wood chips that might possess more favourable storage and drying properties. The main objective of the current research project was to develop and perform a storage experiment in which the storage behaviour of fine and coarse wood chips could be examined and compared in detail over a period of nine months. In this experiment two covered storage piles (height 3.5 m), with over 500 m3 fine and coarse wood chips respectively, were examined under practice scale conditions in Germany. After nine months of storage the fine chips in the core of the storage pile had dried to a moisture content of 34% with dry matter losses of 22%. Coarse chips, on the other hand, achieved a moisture content of 29% and dry matter losses of 21% in the same period. The maximum moisture content of 40% required by heating plants in practice is achieved by fine chips after 6.5 months and by the coarse chips already after 3.5 months.

Open-air storage of fine and coarse wood chips of poplar from short rotation coppice in covered piles

Coppice management is applied to many species, in many countries and in many ways, so that several harvesting techniques have been developed depending on specific local conditions. However, all techniques designed for handling coppice stands must be suitable for coping with small stem size and stump crowding, and often with steep and generally difficult terrain. Traditional harvesting systems are labor intensive because they usually include motor-manual felling and processing into one-meter lengths at the stump site, and manual loading of the short logs onto pack animals or tractors. Thus, in industrialized countries, these systems are no longer viable and they are being replaced with mechanized cut-to-length and whole-tree harvesting, depending on site conditions. Mechanization dramatically improves worker safety, and compensates for the reduced availability of rural labor, with their propensity to perform heavy and low-paying jobs. Much progress has already been made, with the massive introduction of modern harvesters, forwarders and tower yarders in coppice harvesting operations. The presence of multiple stems on the same stump offers a serious challenge to the introduction of mechanized felling to coppice harvesting operations, because stump crowding hinders felling head movements. However, new machines have been designed that can handle coppice stumps. Further research should address the relationship between stump damage and regeneration vigor, in order to define new standards for cut quality. Silvicultural practice may need adapting to the new harvesting technology and to the products required by the modern bio-economy.

/pdf/trends-and-perspectives-in-coppice-harvesting-1cko44mkxl.pdf

Trends and perspectives in coppice harvesting.

All European coppice forests consist of broadleaved tree species. Willows, poplars and black loctus are treated as short-rotation coppice (SRC), wich is usually regarded as part of agricultural-production systems. There are different forms of coppice forests: simple coppice, coppice with standards, coppice selection, pollarding and short rotation coppice.

Silvicultural Guidelines for European Coppice Forests

The economic feasibility of short-rotation energy biomass production was evaluated from measurements on six naturally afforested 15–26-year-old downy birch-dominated ( Betula pubescens Ehr.) stands in a former peat-production area in northern Finland. In the financial analysis, afforestation by natural or broadcast seeding was assumed, and the stands were regenerated by coppicing after the first, second, and third rotations. With respect to the first rotation, the sales revenues from whole-tree fuel chips covered their production costs in five cases out of six when a 21 EUR MWh −1 price for energy on delivery was assumed. The bare land value (BLV) was positive even with a five per cent discount rate in five cases, reaching a maximum of 995 EUR ha −1 . With an interest rate of three per cent, for example, the break-even stumpage price for energy wood (assessed as the net present value of the first generation equal to 0) fluctuated between approx. 1 and 7 EUR per cubic metre, implying an economic surplus to be reached without subsidies in these cases. The unit price of energy (when bare land value equals 0) for the majority of the stands was well below the assumed price level, indicating noteworthy long-term financial incentives associated with the production.

Profitability of short-rotation biomass production on downy birch stands on cut-away peatlands in northern Finland.

Traditional coppice stands cover millions of hectares throughout Europe and offer large amounts of biomass. The study analyzed 10 commercial coppice harvesting operations in northwestern Italy, where modern machines were deployed. Removals, prices, work, revenues and costs were carefully determined. Firewood was the main product, representing between 70% and 100% of the total product mass and value. Traditional coppice stands often yield over 200 m3 of energy biomass per hectare, at the time of cut. Cable yarding operations were better organized than ground-based operations, which explained why they incurred the same harvesting cost, despite the more challenging site conditions under which they were deployed. Mean harvesting cost was 45 € m−3, of which about 10% was needed for felling, 70% for extraction and processing, and the remaining 20% for loading and transportation. All operations accrued some profit, which varied between 13 and 43 € m−3 or between 1600 and 8600 € ha−1, depending on operational efficiency, value recovery and stand yield.

Biomass production from traditional coppice management in northern Italy

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Biomass production from traditional coppice management in northern Italy