Logging emissions studied.

Another study on clearcut and biomass burning for our politicians to read.  I have about 30 articles in this section of my collections.

Norris

7.3 Logging study reveals huge hidden emissions of the forestry industry (Le Page 10 September 2019 New Scientist)    –    ([1] But no one is counting all the carbon emissions associated with logging because international rules on how this should be done are wildly inadequate, says economist John Talberth at the Center for Sustainable Economy, an environmental think-tank based in Oregon, US. “The accounting rules were written by loggers for loggers,” he says. “That’s why you hear of agriculture as a big source of emissions, but not logging and wood products.” [2] His life-cycle analysis takes account of factors such as the carbon released as the roots of cut trees rot in the ground and the fertiliser, herbicides and pesticides applied to tree plantations. The conclusion: logging in North Carolina emits 44 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. [3] Talberth has carried out a study like this before. In 2017, he found that logging was the single biggest source of carbon emissions in Oregon. And an independent study by Oregon State University came to the same conclusion in 2018. [4] The good news is that Talberth’s study also showed that if land owners adopted “climate smart” practices, forests in North Carolina could soak up 3 gigatonnes of CO2 over two or three decades. That would cancel out 20 years of the state’s carbon emissions. [5] The main such practice would be to cut trees every 60 or 90 years rather than every 30 years or less. Those cuts should be done in small patches rather than clearcutting vast areas. And foresters should grow a mix of native species rather than monocultures of alien species. Such forests would store more carbon and support more wildlife.)

Le Page, Michael, Environment 10 September 2019. “Logging study reveals huge hidden emissions of the forestry industry.” New Scientist Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2215913-logging-study-reveals-huge-hidden-emissions-of-the-forestry-industry/ (LINKS)

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