Management activities can have a substantial effect on greenhouse gas mitigation that extends beyond the carbon contained within forest ecosystems. Harvested wood goes into diverse forest products that continue to store carbon for the duration of their useful life (1, 2). Forest management activities can also supply wood directly for energy, and waste materials from wood products manufacturing and processing can be recovered to produce power.
Management activities can have a substantial effect on greenhouse gas mitigation that extends beyond the carbon contained within forest ecosystems. Harvested wood goes into diverse forest products that continue to store carbon for the duration of their useful life (1, 2). Forest management activities can also supply wood directly for energy, and waste materials from wood products manufacturing and processing can be recovered to produce power.
There are some ways that forest management can help to increase carbon storage in the harvested wood products pools. Emphasizing “durable” or “long-lived” wood products, such as lumber used for building construction can help to increase the overall lifespan of the product in use, as well as shift the mix of products toward those that decay less in landfills (2). Wood products can also be used as substitutes for other materials that require greater fossil fuel inputs to produce, such as steel or concrete (8, 9). For example, one study that compared the life-cycle emissions needed to build a single-family home using primarily wood, steel, or concrete construction materials found that the wood house had the least embodied energy, particularly compared to steel construction (10, 11). Although forest management can influence the species and size of trees available for wood products, larger-scale policies and markets will largely drive the demand for particular products.
Janowiak, M.; Swanston, C.; Ontl, T. 2017. Carbon Benefits of Wood-Based Products and Energy. (June, 2017). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Climate Change Resource Center. https://www.fs.usda.gov/ccrc/topics/forest-mgmt-carbon-benefits/wood
