<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The results of scientific studies dealing with the influence of forest management on carbon dynamics are often controversial. Substituting fossil fuels with wood is not always a climate-friendly solution, and besides, it has often a negative impact on biodiversity. The current paper reviews the literature about the influence of different forest management and timber use options on climate change and brings out the accompanying consequences on biodiversity in temperate and boreal climate zones. The forest’s ability to sequestrate and store carbon can be enlarged by appropriate forest management planning and practices. Generally, for mitigation of climate change, the moderate (not intensive) forest management is most favourable, but intensification of management enhances global warming, since forest carbon storage in tree biomass and soil decreases. The mitigation of climate change is just one of the many roles of forest, and climate policy actions cannot come at the expense of species diversity. The complex studies dealing with several forest goals conclude that high carbon store and biodiversity protection do not contradict each other, but the achievement of maximum economic profit at the same time is not possible. The mitigation of climate change and wildlife protection is most effective when it is first of all the forests with a high biodiversity that are managed less intensively. Concerning climate change, the most negative forest biomass use is wood combustion. It is reasonable to burn only such biomass (cut and industrial residues) which cannot be used for producing goods holding carbon for a long time.</p></abstract>

The results of scientific studies dealing with the influence of forest management on carbon dynamics are often controversial. Substituting fossil fuels with wood is not always a climate-friendly solution, and besides, it has often a negative impact on biodiversity. The current paper reviews the literature about the influence of different forest management and timber use options on climate change and brings out the accompanying consequences on biodiversity in temperate and boreal climate zones. The forest’s ability to sequestrate and store carbon can be enlarged by appropriate forest management planning and practices. Generally, for mitigation of climate change, the moderate (not intensive) forest management is most favourable, but intensification of management enhances global warming, since forest carbon storage in tree biomass and soil decreases. The mitigation of climate change is just one of the many roles of forest, and climate policy actions cannot come at the expense of species diversity. The complex studies dealing with several forest goals conclude that high carbon store and biodiversity protection do not contradict each other, but the achievement of maximum economic profit at the same time is not possible. The mitigation of climate change and wildlife protection is most effective when it is first of all the forests with a high biodiversity that are managed less intensively. Concerning climate change, the most negative forest biomass use is wood combustion. It is reasonable to burn only such biomass (cut and industrial residues) which cannot be used for producing goods holding carbon for a long time.

The influence of forest management and timber use options on carbon sequestration and the consequences on biodiversity

Institute of Forestry and Rural Engineering

Forestry Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The results of scientific studies dealing with the influence of forest management on carbon dynamics are often controversial. Substituting fossil fuels with...

The influence of forest management and timber use options on carbon sequestration and the consequences on biodiversity

Published Online: Apr 25, 2018

Page range: 37 - 49

Received: Nov 15, 2017

Accepted: Mar 05, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/fsmu-2017-0011

Keywords
forest management, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, climate change, sustainability

© 2017 Raul Rosenvald et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The influence of forest management and timber use options on carbon sequestration and the consequences on biodiversity

Published Online: Apr 25, 2018

Page range: 37 - 49

Received: Nov 15, 2017

Accepted: Mar 05, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/fsmu-2017-0011

Keywordsforest management, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, climate change, sustainability

© 2017 Raul Rosenvald et al., published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
forest management, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, climate change, sustainability