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Assessment of the Role of Wood Products in Mitigating Climate Change
Abstract:
Timber harvesting and production of wood products are important components of the Philippines’ carbon budget. However, there is no information available on the amount of carbon released and stored from forests, wood products down to their end uses. To help fill this gap, the study aimed at assessing the possible contribution of wood products in mitigating climate change in the Philippines.
Flow of carbon from the forests up to the final uses of wood products was tracked to determine the remaining amount of carbon in the wood products. Research results were used to assess the greenhouse gases (GHG) sources and sinks of the land use change and forestry (LUCF) sector using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines. The study also determined the carbon stocks in the biomass, soil, and wood products using the CO2 Fix Model.
Results indicated that 1.74 Gg C was retained in the long-term (35-60 years) wood products out of the total 9.23 Gg C contained in the logs extracted. The value represented 27 percent of the original carbon in the harvested logs. This figure was used to calculate carbon uptake and emission of the LUCF sector. Inventory results revealed that net carbon absorption was higher by 2 Mt than the 2001 inventory where carbon in the wood products was not incorporated in the conduct of GHG inventory.
Using the CO2 Fix Model to estimate carbon in the forest ecosystem and wood products, results indicated that total carbon contained in the biomass, soil, and wood products followed a decreasing trend when land was allocated to timber production.
From a total of 395.27 Mg C in year 35, carbon was reduced to 239.79 Mg in year 175.
In conclusion, huge amounts of carbon are emitted to the atmosphere during manufacturing of the wood products. However, there is substantial amount of carbon locked up in the final products until the end of their life span.