Implications of environmental quality objectives on the potential of forestry to reduce net CO2 emissions - a case study in central Sweden

Forestry has an important role to play as a provider of energyfrom renewable biomass and through the sequestration of carbonin biomass and soil. Forests are also habitats for a large numberof species which are important for biodiversity. In some cases,these two roles may conflict. The aim of this study was to modelthe implications of specific environmental quality objectiveson the potential of forestry to reduce net CO₂ emissions byaddressing interim targets 1 and 2 in the environmental qualityobjective, sustainable forests for Uppsala County and used thisregion as a case study. The carbon stock in the biomass, thesubstitution effect, and the economic consequences associatedwith six forest management scenarios were considered. The developmentfor the scenarios was simulated at stand level using an empiricalmodel. The results of the study showed that the shortest rotationperiod was preferable to mitigate net CO₂ emissions since itresulted in more biomass that could replace fossil fuel. However,such a strategy might affect sustainable policies negatively.Increasing the extent of mixed stands could be a preferablestrategy since it may achieve several objectives.