Post by Andrei Tchentchik on Mar 6, 2020 17:46:59 GMT 2
(.#A.072).- Cut more forests to reduce GHGs, really ? 6 oct. 2019.
Cut more forests to reduce GHGs, really ? Oct 6, 2019.
According to Quebec
‘’ I think replacing old trees with new trees can help the environment, ‘’ - François Legault Prime Minister of Quebec -
The Legault government's claim analyzed by several experts.
‘’ According to the Legault government, the additional forestry measures envisaged would allow an additional reduction of 8 Mt of GHG per year by 2030, or 30% of Quebec’s GHG reduction target.
‘’ A working group overseen by FPInnovations, a private research center funded by the forest industry, is finalizing its report which will validate the figures, according to Quebec.
QUÉBEC - The Legault government has announced its intention to cut more trees to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with its new forestry strategy. This statement is incorrect, but it is true that the Quebec forest can help in the fight against climate change.
Charles Lecavalier
Parliamentary office
‘’When a tree breaks, when it is no longer healthy, it becomes a carbon emitter. If we just plant trees and we don't do forest management, at some point you will have the opposite effect, the forest will no longer do its job of capturing carbon, '' said the Minister of Forests, Pierre Dufour, earlier this week.
This claim was immediately decried by environmentalists.
Pierre Dufour’s argument is as follows: a dead tree in the forest decomposes and releases greenhouse gases (GHGs). If cut and used in construction, the carbon it contains will be trapped for a long time.
The reality is much more complex, notes Xavier Cavard, holder of the UQAT-MFFP Research Chair in forest carbon management, from the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
"Seeing a dead tree as a loss is an old speech," he said.
MORE CARBON
First, the soil of the boreal forest is an important carbon sink.
When trees are cut, the leaves, branches and bark residue they contain can decompose faster and release large amounts of GHGs.
An older forest with a thick cover of humus can emit more carbon after it is cleared.
Farther north, the trees grow more slowly; the period when deforested land will no longer absorb carbon is longer than in southern Quebec.
A dead tree can release its carbon over 100 years since it decomposes slowly.
If you cut down an old forest to make paper, it will be released into the atmosphere in less than five years, adds Cavard.
To maximize the environmental gain, wood must replace polluting materials, steel or concrete.
This is why the government wants to encourage its use in the construction of buildings.
"But it's not done," notes Professor Luc Bouthillier of Laval University.
A significant part of the harvested wood is not intended for construction, but for a less sustainable use like paper.
TRUCKS
There is also the distance: the carbon footprint increases by picking up wood by truck several hundred kilometers from the sawmills, adds Mr. Bouthillier.
Minister Dufour nevertheless wishes to encourage industrialists to fell trees ever further.
Currently, these old forests are considered unprofitable due to the high cost of transportation.
Quebec wants to help, using ‘’ mechanisms that will help industrialists to maximize logging ‘’.
He is considering subsidizing transportation or lowering fees.
INTENSIVE EXPLOITATION
But how can we use the forest to fight climate change?
M. Cavard presents a hypothesis: to separate the forest into three distinct zones.
The first would be an intensively harvested area with fast-growing tree species for construction and the second would be a total conservation area. Between the two, it offers a natural forest in '' eco-systemic management '', where companies imitate nature: more or less total cuts in areas with high frequency of forest fires , cut in gaps in the forests where fires are more rare.
However, more studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of this method.
Cut more forests to reduce GHGs, really ? Oct 6, 2019.
According to Quebec
‘’ I think replacing old trees with new trees can help the environment, ‘’ - François Legault Prime Minister of Quebec -
The Legault government's claim analyzed by several experts.
‘’ According to the Legault government, the additional forestry measures envisaged would allow an additional reduction of 8 Mt of GHG per year by 2030, or 30% of Quebec’s GHG reduction target.
‘’ A working group overseen by FPInnovations, a private research center funded by the forest industry, is finalizing its report which will validate the figures, according to Quebec.
QUÉBEC - The Legault government has announced its intention to cut more trees to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with its new forestry strategy. This statement is incorrect, but it is true that the Quebec forest can help in the fight against climate change.
Charles Lecavalier
Parliamentary office
‘’When a tree breaks, when it is no longer healthy, it becomes a carbon emitter. If we just plant trees and we don't do forest management, at some point you will have the opposite effect, the forest will no longer do its job of capturing carbon, '' said the Minister of Forests, Pierre Dufour, earlier this week.
This claim was immediately decried by environmentalists.
Pierre Dufour’s argument is as follows: a dead tree in the forest decomposes and releases greenhouse gases (GHGs). If cut and used in construction, the carbon it contains will be trapped for a long time.
The reality is much more complex, notes Xavier Cavard, holder of the UQAT-MFFP Research Chair in forest carbon management, from the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
"Seeing a dead tree as a loss is an old speech," he said.
MORE CARBON
First, the soil of the boreal forest is an important carbon sink.
When trees are cut, the leaves, branches and bark residue they contain can decompose faster and release large amounts of GHGs.
An older forest with a thick cover of humus can emit more carbon after it is cleared.
Farther north, the trees grow more slowly; the period when deforested land will no longer absorb carbon is longer than in southern Quebec.
A dead tree can release its carbon over 100 years since it decomposes slowly.
If you cut down an old forest to make paper, it will be released into the atmosphere in less than five years, adds Cavard.
To maximize the environmental gain, wood must replace polluting materials, steel or concrete.
This is why the government wants to encourage its use in the construction of buildings.
"But it's not done," notes Professor Luc Bouthillier of Laval University.
A significant part of the harvested wood is not intended for construction, but for a less sustainable use like paper.
TRUCKS
There is also the distance: the carbon footprint increases by picking up wood by truck several hundred kilometers from the sawmills, adds Mr. Bouthillier.
Minister Dufour nevertheless wishes to encourage industrialists to fell trees ever further.
Currently, these old forests are considered unprofitable due to the high cost of transportation.
Quebec wants to help, using ‘’ mechanisms that will help industrialists to maximize logging ‘’.
He is considering subsidizing transportation or lowering fees.
INTENSIVE EXPLOITATION
But how can we use the forest to fight climate change?
M. Cavard presents a hypothesis: to separate the forest into three distinct zones.
The first would be an intensively harvested area with fast-growing tree species for construction and the second would be a total conservation area. Between the two, it offers a natural forest in '' eco-systemic management '', where companies imitate nature: more or less total cuts in areas with high frequency of forest fires , cut in gaps in the forests where fires are more rare.
However, more studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of this method.
