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Sustainability of forest bioenergy in Europe: land-use-related carbon dioxide emissions of forest harvest residues
- Source :
- GCB Bioenergy. 7:877-887
- Publication Year :
- 2014
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2014.
-
Abstract
- Increasing bioenergy production from forest harvest residues decreases litter input to the soil and can thus reduce the carbon stock and sink of forests. This effect may negate greenhouse gas savings obtained by using bioenergy. We used a spatially explicit modelling framework to assess the reduction in the forest litter and soil carbon stocks across Europe, assuming that a sustainable potential of bioenergy from forest harvest residues is taken into use. The forest harvest residue removal reduced the carbon stocks of litter and soil on average by 3% over the period from 2016 to 2100. The reduction was small compared to the size of the carbon stocks but significant in comparison to the amount of energy produced from the residues. As a result of these land-use-related missions, bioenergy production from forest harvest residues would need to be continued for 60-80 years to achieve a 60% carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reduction in heat and power generation compared to the fossil fuels it replaces in most European countries. The emission reductions achieved and their timings varied among countries because of differences in the litter and soil carbon loss. Our results show that extending the current sustainability requirements for bioliquids and biofuels to solid bioenergy does not guarantee efficient reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the short-term. In the longer-term, bioenergy from forest harvest residues may pave the way to low-emission energy systems.
- Subjects :
- hiilidioksidi
uusiutuvat energialähteet
hakkuutähteet
hakkuut
hiili
ta1172
ta1171
maankäyttö
Sustainability criteria
Carbon debt
chemistry.chemical_compound
Bioliquids
Logging residues
Bioenergy
Eurooppa
ta512
Waste Management and Disposal
maaperä
kestävä kehitys
Land use
varastot
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Agroforestry
business.industry
Fossil fuel
Forestry
Soil carbon
ta4112
RED
metsät
Indirect emissions
bioenergia
kriteerit
chemistry
Biofuel
Greenhouse gas
Carbon dioxide
Environmental science
päästöt
kestävyys
business
energiantuotanto
Agronomy and Crop Science
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 17571693
- Volume :
- 7
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- GCB Bioenergy
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....c94d4a1d55a3ecfa48271413a9d4ac3f