Evergreen Alliance Staff
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Journalism: The over-exploitation of BC forests
Library: Destruction of wildlife habitat and loss of biodiversity
Journalism: Loss of forest-related employment
Journalism: The need to expedite final treaties with First Nations
Journalism: Loss of primary forest
Journalism: Loss of carbon sequestration capacity
Other notable forest-related writing and reports
Noteworthy writing and reports from the forest-industrial complex
Forest News
Library: The over-exploitation of BC forests
Library: Loss of primary forest
Library: Loss of the hydrological functions of forests
Make conservation of the hydrological function of forests a higher priority than timber extraction
Library: Loss of forest-related employment
Library: The need to expedite final treaties with First Nations
Transition from clearcut logging to selection logging
Library: Increase in forest fire hazard
Journalism: End public subsidization of BC's forest industry
Library: End public subsidization of BC's forest industry
Library: The need to reform BC forest legislation
Journalism: The need to reform BC forest legislation
Library: Creating a new vision for BC forests
Forest industry public subsidy calculator
Manufacturing and processing facilities
Forest Trends
Investigations
Community Forest Mapping Projects
Area-based calculations of carbon released from clearcut logging
Journalism: The increase in forest carbon emissions
Library: Increase in forest carbon emissions
To protect biodiversity, transition away from clearcut logging
Peachland Watershed Protection Alliance
Library: Loss of future employment resulting from exporting raw logs
Mapping old forest on Vancouver Island
Mapping old forest in Omineca Natural Resource Region
Mapping old forest in Skeena Natural Resource Region
Mapping old forest in Northeastern Natural Resource Region
Mapping old forest in Cariboo Natural Resource Region
Mapping old forest in South Coast Natural Resource Region
Mapping old forest in Thompson-Okanagan Natural Resource Region
Mapping old forest in Kootenay-Boundary Natural Resource Region
Forest Conservation Organizations
Mapping old forest on Haida Gwaii
Mapping old forest on the central coast
Library: Ecologically damaging practices
Journalism: Ecologically damaging practices
Critical Issues
Analysis
Comment
Listed species: Cascades Natural Resource District
Listed species: 100 Mile House Natural Resource District
Listed species: Campbell River Natural Resource District
Listed species: Cariboo-Chilcotin Natural Resource District
Listed species: Chilliwack River Natural Resource District
Listed species: Fort Nelson Natural Resource District
Listed species: Haida Gwaii Natural Resource District
Listed species: Mackenzie Natural Resource District
Listed species: Nadina Natural Resource District
Listed species: North Island Natural Resource District
Listed species: Peace Natural Resource District
Listed species: Prince George Natural Resource District
Listed species: Quesnel Natural Resource District
Listed species: Rocky Mountain Natural Resource District
Listed species: Sea-to-Sky Natural Resource District
Listed species: Selkirk Natural Resource District
Listed species: Skeena Natural Resource District
Listed species: South Island Natural Resource District
Listed species: Stuart-Nechako Natural Resource District
Listed species: Sunshine Coast Natural Resource District
Listed species: Thompson Rivers Natural Resource District
Listed species: Coast Mountains Natural Resource District
Action Group: Divestment from forest-removal companies
Fact-checking mindustry myths
First Nations Agreements
Monitor: BC Timber Sales Auctions
BC Timber Sales auction of old-growth forests on Vancouver Island
Monitoring of forest fires in clearcuts and plantations: 2021
Library: End public subsidization of forest industry
Examples of engaging the mindustry:
Portal: The over-exploitation of BC forests
Portal: The need to reform BC forest legislation
Portal: The need to expedite treaties with First Nations
Portal: The need to get more organized, informed and inspired for change
Portal: Develop a new relationship with forests
Portal: Destruction of wildlife habitat and loss of biodiversity
Portal: Loss of the hydrological functions of forests
Portal: Increase in forest fire hazard
Portal: Loss of carbon sequestration capacity
Portal: Increase in forest carbon emissions
Portal: Ecologically damaging forestry practices
Portal: Loss of forest-related employment
Portal: Loss of future employment resulting from raw log exports
Portal: Costs of floods, fires and clearcutting of watersheds
Portal: The economic impact on communities of boom and bust cycles
Portal: Loss of economic development by other forest-based sectors
Portal: The true cost of subsidies provided to the logging industry
Help
Loss of trust in institutions
Portal: The instability of communities dependent on forest extraction
Portal: The psychological unease caused by forest destruction
Portal: Loss of trust in institutions caused by over-exploitation of BC forests
Portal: Social division caused by over-exploitation of BC forests
Journalism: The instability of communities dependent on forest extraction
Journalism: Psychological unease caused by forest destruction
Journalism: Loss in trust of institutions as a result of over-exploitation of BC forests
Journalism: Social division caused by over-exploitation of BC forests
Library: The instability of communities dependent on forest extraction
Library: Psychological unease caused by forest destruction
Library: Loss of trust in institutions as a result of over-exploitation of BC forests
Library: Social division caused by over-exploitation of BC forests
Resources: Psychological unease caused by forest destruction
Resources: The economic impact on communities of boom-and-bust cycles
Resources: Loss of economic development potential in other forest-based sectors
Journalism: Cost of floods, fires and clearcutting of community watersheds
Journalism: The economic impact on communities of boom-and-bust cycles
Journalism: Loss of economic development potential in other forest-based sectors
Library: Cost of floods, fires and clearcutting of community watersheds
Library: The economic impact on communities of boom-and-bust cycles
Library: Loss of economic development potential in other forest-based sectors
Portal: Permanent loss of forests to logging roads
Portal: The economic costs of converting forests into sawdust and wood chips
Journalism: Permanent loss of forests to logging roads
Library: Permanent loss of forests to logging roads
Journalism: The economic costs of converting forests into sawdust and wood chips
Library: The economic costs of converting forests into sawdust and wood chips
Resources: The economic costs of converting forests into sawdust and wood chips
Resources: Ecologically damaging forestry practices
Resources: Conversion of forests to permanent logging roads
Library: Getting organized
Journalism: Getting organized
Forest politics
Forest Stewards
Portal: Plantation failure
Library: Plantation failure
Journalism: Plantation failure
Library: Loss of carbon sequestration capacity
Portal: Soil loss and damage
Journalism: Soil loss and damage
Library: Soil loss and damage
Resources: Soil loss and damage
Journalism: Loss of employment resulting from export of raw logs
Journalism: Destruction of wildlife habitat and loss of biodiversity
Journalism: Loss of the hydrological functions of forests
Journalism: Increase in forest fire hazard
Action Group: Sunlighting professional reliance
Making the case for much greater conservation of BC forests
Science Alliance for Forestry Transformation
Bearing witness:
Economic State of the BC Forest Sector
Big tree mapping and monitoring
Reported Elsewhere
Protect more
Start a forest conservation project
Get involved
Article reference pages
Physical impacts created by logging industry
Nature Directed Stewardship at Glade and Laird watersheds
References for: How did 22 TFLs in BC evade legal old-growth management areas?
References for: BC's triangle of fire: More than just climate change
References for: Teal Cedar goes after Fairy Creek leaders
References for: Is the draft framework on biodiversity and ecosystem health something new? Or just more talk and log?
IWTF events, articles and videos
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Everything posted by Evergreen Alliance Staff
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By BC Forest Practices Board The investigation found that licensees’ reforestation choices shifted from establishing lodgepole pine monocultures to establishing more mixed species stands over the investigation period (2007-2019), with the intent of establishing resilient stands to meet timber and non-timber resource objectives. While the trend is encouraging, investigators found that licensees were generically regenerating to pre-harvest mature stand species composition without considering site-specific tree species application, reflecting a lack of critical thinking regarding longer-term stand development. On the ground, licensees complied with FRPA reforestation requirements, but more than 60 percent of the cutblocks sampled were in poor or marginal stand condition due to poor health, low stocking, and/or competing vegetation—this result appears to be driven by ineffective application of silviculture treatments, forest cover retention, species choices and placement at the site level. One of the main factors contributing to poor stand condition was that licensees were not following best management practices for reforestation in dry-belt fir stands. Given the stand conditions observed, it is likely that many of these stands will not be healthy beyond free growing, potentially compromising forest yields and forest cover requirements for resources such as wildlife habitat and forage production. (2020) Forest Practices Board investigation-Reforestation in IDF Subzone.pdf -
Forests, Lands, Natural Resources and Rural Development Minister Doug Donaldson announced in February 2018 that a Panel would review British Columbia (BC) Forest Inventory Program. The announcement included the Panel members as Bill Bourgeois, Clark Binkley, Valerie LeMay, Ian Moss and Nick Reynolds. Key functions of BC’s Forest Inventory Program include: Undertaking new forest inventories to replace older ones Maintaining existing forest inventories through updates Ground sampling and re-measurement of natural (unmanaged) stands Monitoring the post-harvest growth of managed stands Providing models to project stand development and future yield. The BC Forest Inventory Panel undertook a review of the Forest Inventory Program between April and September 2018. The Panel’s work included reviewing the existing program, requesting and then evaluating written submissions, interviewing key users and developers, and assessing programs in other provinces and jurisdictions. This report summarizes the Panel’s findings and provides recommendations on possible improvements to the BC Forest Inventory Program. (2018) British Columbia Forest Inventory Review Panel Technical Background Report.pdf
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Submission by Anthony Britneff and Martin Watts Our submission is based on a number of questions originally submitted by the opposition forest critic to the forest minister during the 2014 and 2016 Estimates Debates and on the ministerial responses to those questions prepared by MFLNRO&RD for the forest minister. While FAIB managers seem to consider the 2014 and 2016 Estimates Debate questions to be some sort of personal condemnation of staff work, the questions are simply a reflection of real issues encountered in the course of completing contracts for clients and issues that FAIB managers chose to ignore, such as: • MFLNRO&RD data management problems were identified when validating MFLNRO&RD data under contract for FAIB for use in parameterizing1 VDYP7 and problems identified when preparing data for PrognosisBC calibration under a contract for RPB, • SIBEC problems were identified while under contract to RPB to assess the use of SIBEC data for planning and investing in silviculture activities under the LBIS and, •SIBEC, TASS/TIPSY, biomass conversion and access to data problems were identified during the quantification, validation and verification of forest carbon offsets projects to ISO standards, which require uncertainty to be documented and, if possible, quantified in order to account for it. In this submission, we go through the questions on the DVD (provided separately) in reference to the forest minister’s responses, while adding any relevant updates. We also incorporate these subject areas: • Individual tree volume, • Additional ground sample programs and the analyses associated with them, • The culling of the PSPs, • The debate between the YSM and SDM programs and, • The TSR and AAC determination processes with respect to VRI attribute adjustment, VRI statistical analysis, G&Y model assumptions and the use of monitoring data. (2018) A submission to the Forest Inventory Program Review Panel.pdf
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By W. Jean Roach, Suzanne W. Simard and Donald L. Sachs Single-species planting of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia) following clear-cut logging or wildfire has been common throughout interior British Columbia, Canada, but health problems with the species have been documented as it grows beyond the juvenile stage. We examined damage and stocking in twenty-seven 15- to 30-year- old lodgepole pine plantations that were previously declared free growing in the highly productive cedar – hemlock forests in southeastern British Columbia, where lodgepole pine is absent from many primary forests. In order to be free growing, stands must meet minimum tree density, height, damage and brush competition criteria as legislated by the Provincial government. Overall, 44 per cent of lodgepole pine trees had unacceptable damage (causing them to be rejected as crop trees), and as a direct result, one-third of the plantations were no longer defined as free growing because there were insufficient crop trees remaining. Natural regeneration of other tree species partially compensated for the unhealthy pine. Logistic regression and odds ratio analysis associated increasing risk of damage from western gall rust with increasing soil moisture, more northerly aspects and mechanical site preparation, and decreasing risk with pre-commercial thinning treatment. Risk of damage from snow and ice was associated with increasing mean annual precipitation, decreasing longitude and broadcast burning. Risk of bear damage was associated with increasing soil moisture, pre-commercial thinning treatment and broadcast burning. Based on our results, we recommend that single-species planting of lodgepole pine be curtailed in the Interior Cedar–Hemlock zone in southeastern British Columbia. (2015) Evidence against planting lodgepole pine monocultures in the cedar–hemlock forests of southeastern British Columbia.pdf
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By Jonathan R. Thompson et al The 2002 Biscuit Fire burned at mixed-severities encompassing over 200,000 ha of publicly owned forest- land, including more than 8300 ha of conifer plantations. We used pre- and post-fire digital aerial photography to examine how the level of canopy damage varied within these plantations in relation to topography, weather, vegetation-cover, and management history, with an emphasis on the age of the plantation. We examined 198 plantations that varied widely in age (5–47 years), size (1.25–47 ha), and landscape context. The average level of canopy damage within the plantations was 77%. Based on Ran- dom Forest variable importance values, plantation age was the best predictor of canopy damage. Average annual precipitation, elevation and topographic position were ranked second, third, and fourth, respec- tively. A model selection procedure, using geo-statistical regression models and Akaike’s information criterion, corroborated the importance of plantation age relative to the other predictors tested and also suggested that the influence of age varied over time. The top ranked regression model indicated that the level of canopy damage reached its maximum around age 15 and stayed relatively high until age 25 before declining. (2011) Canopy damage to conifer plantations within a large mixed-severity wildfire varies with stand age.pdf
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By BC Ministry of Forests This report briefly describes the growth and yield prediction systems currently supplied by the British Columbia Ministry of Forests (MOF). Only those growth and yield prediction systems that generate estimates of stand volume are presented here. Site index curves, individual tree volume equations, and other important growth and yield tools are not described. This report is intended for MOF and licensee personnel who are involved in preparing or reviewing MOF growth and yield predictions. Therefore, the reader is assumed to be familiar with growth and yield terminology and concepts, especially as they relate to the situation in British Columbia. Throughout the report, synthesis of information is stressed rather than technical detail.Relevant background information is provided for the growth and yield prediction systems, and examples are given to illustrate their proper use. (1991) Growth and Yield Prediction Systems.pdf
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By Mathew G. E. Mitchell et al Effectively conserving ecosystem services in order to maintain human wellbeing is a global need that requires an understanding of where ecosystem services are produced by ecosystems and where people benefit from these services. However, approaches to effectively identify key locations that have the capacity to supply ecosystem services and actually contribute to meeting human demand for those services are lacking at broad spatial scales. We developed new methods that integrate measures of the capacity of ecosystems to provide services with indicators of human demand and ability to access these services. We then identified important areas for three ecosystem services currently central to protected area management in Canada—carbon storage, freshwater, and nature-based recreation—and evaluated how these hotspots align with Canada’s current protected areas and resource development tenures. We find that locations of ecosystem service capacity overlap only weakly (27–36%) with actual service providing areas (incorporating human access and demand). Overlapping hotspots of provision for multiple ecosystem services are also extremely limited across Canada; only 1.2% (∼56 000 km2) of the total ecosystem service hotspot area in Canada consists of overlap between all three ecosystem services. Canada’s current protected area network also targets service capacity to a greater degree than provision. Finally, one-half to two-thirds of current ecosystem service hotspots (54–66%) overlap with current and planned resource extraction activities. Our analysis demonstrates how to identify areas where conservation and ecosystem service management actions should be focused to more effectively target ecosystem services to ensure that critical areas for ecosystem services that directly benefit people are conserved. Further development of these methods at national scales to assess ecosystem service capacity and demand and integrate this with conventional biodiversity and conservation planning information will help ensure that both biodiversity and ecosystem services are effectively safeguarded. (2020) Identifying key ecosystem service providing areas to inform national-scale conservation planning.pdf
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By the BC Forest Practices Board This investigation arose from a complaint by a resident of Prince George who was concerned about the management of biodiversity in the Prince George Timber Supply Area. The investigation examined compliance with the legal requirements of the Order Establishing Landscape Biodiversity Objectives for the Prince George Timber Supply Area (the Order). It also looked at whether implementation of the Order was consistent with the Implementation Policy that accompanied the Order. The investigation found that licensees were complying with the legal requirements for managing biodiversity. However, those requirements were established almost twenty years ago and have not been formally reviewed or revised. In that time, the land base was severely affected by the MPB and salvage logging that followed, creating conditions that could not have been fully understood when the Order was established. The investigation identified several actions that can be taken to improve management of biodiversity. The Board has previously commented on the value of public planning processes to establish clear objectives for the land base. The results of this investigation emphasize that those objectives cannot be frozen in time. Plans need to be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in the natural environment, new information and knowledge, and to reflect societies changing values. The Board has called for amendments to the Forest and Range Practices Act to incorporate tactical planning as a means to establish clear objectives for our forests and their many values. One of the Board’s proposed principles for tactical planning is “continuous improvement; monitoring of plan implementation and effectiveness is fundamental and is built into the process design to provide feedback to adapt and continuously improve plan outcomes over time.“ The Board encourages this principle to be applied in the Prince George Timber Supply Area and across the province. (2020) Management of Biodiversity in the Prince George Timber Supply Area.pdf
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By Mariana Nagy-Reis et al Habitat loss is often the ultimate cause of species endangerment and is also a leading factor inhibiting species recovery. For this reason, species-at-risk legislation, policies and plans typically focus on habitat conservation and restoration as mechanisms for recovery. To assess the effectiveness of these instruments in decelerating habitat loss, we evaluated spatiotemporal habitat changes for an iconic endangered species, woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). We quantified changes in forest cover, a key proxy of caribou habitat, for all caribou subpopulations in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Despite efforts under federal and provincial recovery plans, and requirements listed under Canada's Species at Risk Act, caribou subpopulations lost twice as much habitat as they gained during a 12-year period (2000– 2012). Drivers of habitat loss varied by ecotype, with Boreal and Northern Mountain caribou affected most by forest fire and Southern Mountain caribou affected more by forest harvest. Our case study emphasizes critical gaps between recovery planning and habitat management actions, which are a core expectation under most species-at-risk legislation. Loss of caribou habitat from 2000 to 2018 has accelerated. Linear features within caribou ranges have also increased over time, particularly seismic lines within Boreal caribou ranges, and we estimated that only 5% of seismic lines have functionally regenerated. Our findings support the idea that short-term recovery actions such as predator reductions and translocations will likely just delay caribou extinction in the absence of well-considered habitat management. Given the magnitude of ongoing habitat change, it is clear that unless the cumulative impacts of land- uses are effectively addressed through planning and management actions that consider anthropogenic and natural disturbances, we will fail to achieve self- sustaining woodland caribou populations across much of North America. (2020) Habitat loss accelerates for the endangered woodland caribou in western Canada.pdf
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By Alana R. Westwood et al British Columbia has the greatest biological diversity of any province or territory in Canada. Yet increasing numbers of species in British Columbia are threatened with extinction. The current patchwork of provincial laws and regulations has not effectively prevented species declines. Recently, the Provincial Government has committed to enacting an endangered species law. Drawing upon our scientific and legal expertise, we offer recommendations for key features of endangered species legislation that build upon strengths and avoid weaknesses observed elsewhere. We recommend striking an independent Oversight Committee to provide recommendations about listing species, organize Recovery Teams, and monitor the efficacy of actions taken. Recovery Teams would evaluate and prioritize potential actions for individual species or groups of species that face common threats or live in a common area, based on best available evidence (including natural and social science and Indigenous Knowledge). Our recommendations focus on implementing an adaptive approach, with ongoing and transparent monitoring and reporting, to reduce delays between determining when a species is at risk and taking effective actions to save it. We urge lawmakers to include this strong evidentiary basis for species recovery as they tackle the scientific and socioeconomic challenges of building an effective species at risk Act. (2018) Protecting biodiversity in British Columbia- Recommendations for developing species at risk legislation.pdf
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By BC Auditor General (2013) John Doyle Biodiversity if the variety of life on the planet. It includes species, their genetic diversity and ecosystems.The health of biodiversity is often compared to the health of the environment, and ultimately affects human well- being by supplying us with food, water, air, soil and medicines. British Columbia is Canada’s most biologically diverse province; however, recent assessments have shown that many of its species and ecosystems are declining.The two ministries primarily responsible for conserving biodiversity in the province are the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations. The Ministry of Environment has had a long-term goal of conserving, maintaining and enhancing native species and ecosystems, while the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations undertakes many of the activities aimed at realizing this goal. This audit looked at the conservation of biodiversity on Crown land, and focused on the habitat protection actions of these two ministries. We conducted this audit to determine whether the B.C. government is effectively conserving biodiversity in the province.We asked three questions: Does government have a clear understanding of biodiversity in B.C.? Are government actions resulting in the conservation of biodiversity? Is government measuring and reporting publicly on its progress towards conserving biodiversity? We concluded that: ♦ Significant gaps exist in government’s understanding of biodiversity in B.C. ♦ Government does not know whether its actions are resulting in the conservation of biodiversity. ♦ Government is not adequately measuring and reporting on its progress in the conservation of biodiversity. (2013) Audit of Biodiversity in B.C assessing the effectiveness of key tools.pdf
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By Alan E. Burger et al We recorded the occurrence and relative abundance of potential predators of the threatened marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in the Carmanah, Walbran, and Klanawa Valleys on southwest Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Data covering multiple years (1994–2000) came from two series of dawn surveys used to monitor murrelet activities (45 stations in total), and two series of point counts (190 stations). Steller's jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) were consistently the most common potential predator. Common ravens (Corvus corax) and red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) were also frequently encountered, but owls, accipiters, and falcons were rare. Northwestern crows (Corvus caurinus) and bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) were rare at our inland stations, but other studies showed that they were common at the coast. The survey and point count data showed that the percent occurrence and relative abundance (individuals per survey) of Steller’s jays, common ravens, and all predators combined were higher at stations bordering clearcuts and roads than at stations within interior forest or bordering streams. Highest counts were usually at sites frequently used by people. Predators were more abundant in the fragmented forests of the Klanawa Valley than in the less disturbed Carmanah-Walbran Valleys. In particular, counts of Steller’s jays at road and clearcut edges were significantly higher in Klanawa than in Carmanah-Walbran. A pilot experiment using 40 artificial nest sites on tree boughs in old-growth patches in the Klanawa Valley revealed that eggs disappeared more rapidly near clearcut edges than in the interior forest. We conclude that predation risk at nests of marbled murrelets is likely to be higher near clearcuts and roads than in interior forest, and higher in fragmented landscapes than in relatively undisturbed old-growth forests. (2004) Effects of Habitat Fragmentation and Forest Edges on Predators of Marbled Murrelets and Other Forest Birds on Southwest Vancouver Island.pdf
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By Robert G. D'eon and Susan M. Glenn Habitat fragmentation is considered one of the major conservation issues of recent decades. We tested predictions of landscape patterns in a 352,253-ha managed forest area in southeast British Columbia. We did this by focussing on forest fragmentation concerns among old-growth, harvest, and wildfire patches in 44 delineated landscapes using patch indices as measures of landscape pattern. We found no significant association between amount of harvesting and 15 old-growth patch indices. Comparisons among patch types revealed that amounts and spatial patterns of harvest patches differed little from amounts and spatial patterns of old-growth patches in control landscapes. Variability indices revealed similar variability between harvest patches and old-growth patches, and more variability between harvest patches and wildfire patches. Little of the evidence gathered in this study supported predictions of fragmentation of old-growth spatial patterns, or predicted differences between harvest spatial patterns and more naturally occurring spatial patterns. We suggest these results could be due to the relatively small amounts of harvesting and old-growth forest in these landscapes, and therefore habitat amount may be a more important factor than spatial configuration of patches in these landscapes. (2005) The influence of forest harvesting on landscape spatial patterns and old-growth-forest fragmentation in southeast British Columbia.pdf
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Report from the Woodwell Climate Research Center As more and more countries adopt climate targets to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions, the relevance of forests as stores of sequestered carbon has increased. However, the growing use of forest biomass to generate electricity and heat has raised concerns over the immediate emissions resulting from burning wood. Many national and intergovernmental policy frameworks, including those of the EU and UK, currently treat biomass energy as zero-carbon at the point of combustion. Accordingly, they grant it access to financial and regulatory support available for other renewable energy sources. These incentives have driven a rapid increase in the consumption of biomass for energy, even though its combustion may increase atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) for years or even decades to come. This report examines the issue in relation to one particular source of woody biomass: wood pellets sourced from the US that are burnt for electricity and combined heat and power (CHP) in the EU and UK. Although wood pellets represent only a proportion of the total woody biomass consumed for energy in the EU – and of forest harvests in the US – the market has grown rapidly in recent years. US-sourced pellets account for the majority of wood pellet imports to the UK and are an important source for the EU. In 2019, according to our analysis, US-sourced pellets burnt for energy in the UK were responsible for 13 million–16 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, when taking into account emissions from their combustion and their supply chain, forgone removals of CO2 from the atmosphere due to the harvest of live trees and emissions from the decay of roots and unused logging residues left in the forest after harvest. Almost none of these emissions are included in the UK’s national greenhouse gas inventory; if they were, this would have added between 22 and 27 per cent to the emissions from total UK electricity generation, or 2.8–3.6 per cent of total UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. This volume is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 6 million to 7 million passenger vehicles. Emissions from US-sourced biomass burnt in the UK are projected to rise to 17 million–20 million tonnes of CO2 a year by 2025. This represents 4.4–5.1 per cent of the average annual greenhouse gas emissions target in the UK’s fourth carbon budget (which covers the period 2023–27), making it more difficult to hit a target which the government is currently not on track to achieve in any case. (2021) Greenhouse gas emissions from burning US-sourced woody biomass in the EU and UK.pdf
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By Tara W. Hudiburg et al Atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHGs) must be reduced to avoid an unsustainable climate. Because carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and sequestered in forests and wood products, mitigation strategies to sustain and increase forest carbon sequestration are being developed. These strategies require full accounting of forest sector GHG budgets. Here, we describe a rigorous approach using over one million observations from forest inventory data and a regionally calibrated life-cycle assessment for calculating cradle-to-grave forest sector emissions and sequestration. We find that Western US forests are net sinks because there is a positive net balance of forest carbon uptake exceeding losses due to harvesting, wood product use, and combustion by wildfire. However, over 100 years of wood product usage is reducing the potential annual sink by an average of 21%, suggesting forest carbon storage can become more effective in climate mitigation through reduction in harvest, longer rotations, or more efficient wood product usage. Of the ∼10 700 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents removed from west coast forests since 1900, 81% of it has been returned to the atmosphere or deposited in landfills. Moreover, state and federal reporting have erroneously excluded some product-related emissions, resulting in 25%–55% underestimation of state total CO2 emissions. For states seeking to reach GHG reduction mandates by 2030, it is important that state CO2 budgets are effectively determined or claimed reductions will be insufficient to mitigate climate change. (2019) Meeting GHG reduction targets requires accounting for all forest sector emissions.pdf
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Report from the Dogwood Alliance, Natural Resources Defence Council and Southern Environmental Law Centre. Global demand for wood pellets is devastating forest ecosystems in the Southeast United States. Investigations by media and independent watchdogs over the past decade reveal the truth about the supply chains for pellets exported by Enviva, the world’s largest wood pellet manufacturer. These investigations expose the damaging logging practices used to source the so- called biomass industry, including the clearcutting of iconic wetland forests. Enviva’s pellets from these ravaged forests are then shipped to utilities, such as Drax Power in the United Kingdom and Ørsted in Denmark. Despite the claims of the industry, the independent reporting shows a disturbing pattern: wood pellets burned by Drax and others come from wood that is harvested from native hardwood forests in an area designated as a global biodiversity hotspot. They also spotlight the vast quantities of whole trees and other large-diameter wood— biomass feedstocks known to be high-carbon—that are entering Enviva’s supply chain. Not only is this devastating for these irreplaceable forests, but it’s worsening our Earth’s climate crisis. Multiple independent, peer-reviewed studies have determined that burning biomass from forests for electricity creates more carbon dioxide emissions than burning coal, and that increased carbon dioxide concentrations persist in the atmosphere for decades or more. Two recent investigations add new evidence about the destructive logging practices being used to provide biomass to Enviva, adding insult to injury in a region that’s suffered years of unsustainable logging. In March 2019, investigators in North Carolina again tracked logging trucks from a mature hardwood forest to Enviva’s Northampton wood pellet mill. In January 2018, reporters from the UK Channel 4 News program Dispatches traveled to North Carolina to examine what is happening on the ground in the forests that have become ground zero for feeding Drax Power Station’s voracious demand for wood. The images from the Dispatches investigation tell a story of ecological devastation in the name of clean energy: a once majestic wetland forest clearcut to supply wood to Enviva, and ultimately to Drax. (2019) Global Markets for Biomass Energy are Devastating US Forests.pdf
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By Beverly E. Law et al Strategies to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions through forestry activities have been proposed, but ecosystem process-based integration of climate change, enhanced CO2, disturbance from fire, and management actions at regional scales are extremely limited. Here, we examine the relative merits of afforestation, reforestation, management changes, and harvest residue bioenergy use in the Pacific Northwest. This region represents some of the highest carbon density forests in the world, which can store carbon in trees for 800 y or more. Oregon’s net ecosystem carbon balance (NECB) was equivalent to 72% of total emissions in 2011–2015. By 2100, simulations show increased net carbon uptake with little change in wildfires. Reforestation, afforestation, lengthened harvest cycles on private lands, and restricting harvest on public lands increase NECB 56% by 2100, with the latter two actions contributing the most. Resultant co-benefits included water availability and biodiversity, primarily from increased forest area, age, and species diversity. Converting 127,000 ha of irrigated grass crops to native forests could decrease irrigation demand by 233 billion cubic metres·per year. Utilizing harvest residues for bioenergy production instead of leaving them in forests to decompose increased emissions in the short- term (50 y), reducing mitigation effectiveness. Increasing forest carbon on public lands reduced emissions compared with storage in wood products because the residence time is more than twice that of wood products. Hence, temperate forests with high carbon densities and lower vulnerability to mortality have substantial potential for reducing forest sector emissions. Our analysis framework provides a template for assessments in other temperate regions. (2018) Land use strategies to mitigate climate change in carbon dense temperate forests.pdf
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By John Sterman et al Bioenergy is booming as nations seek to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. The European Union declared biofuels to be carbon-neutral, triggering a surge in wood use. But do biofuels actually reduce emissions? A molecule of CO2 emitted today has the same impact on radiative forcing whether it comes from coal or biomass. Biofuels can only reduce atmospheric CO2 over time through post-harvest increases in net primary production (NPP). The climate impact of biofuels therefore depends on CO2 emissions from combustion of biofuels versus fossil fuels, the fate of the harvested land and dynamics of NPP. Here we develop a model for dynamic bioenergy lifecycle analysis. The model tracks carbon stocks and fluxes among the atmosphere, biomass, and soils, is extensible to multiple land types and regions, and runs in ≈1s, enabling rapid, interactive policy design and sensitivity testing. We simulate substitution of wood for coal in power generation, estimating the parameters governing NPP and other fluxes using data for forests in the eastern US and using published estimates for supply chain emissions. Because combustion and processing efficiencies for wood are less than coal, the immediate impact of substituting wood for coal is an increase in atmospheric CO2 relative to coal. The payback time for this carbon debt ranges from 44–104 years after clearcut, depending on forest type—assuming the land remains forest. Surprisingly, replanting hardwood forests with fast-growing pine plantations raises the CO2 impact of wood because the equilibrium carbon density of plantations is lower than natural forests. Further, projected growth in wood harvest for bioenergy would increase atmospheric CO2 for at least a century because new carbon debt continuously exceeds NPP. Assuming biofuels are carbon neutral may worsen irreversible impacts of climate change before benefits accrue. Instead, explicit dynamic models should be used to assess the climate impacts of biofuels. (2018) Does replacing coal with wood lower CO 2 emissions? Dynamic lifecycle analysis of wood bioenergy.pdf
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As Canada wrestles with meeting its commitment under the Paris Agreement to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C, forest management has emerged as a complex aspect of the national carbon profile. This study makes an important contribution to this discussion by estimating the ongoing and legacy impacts of roads and roadside footprints from industrial logging for a large region of the boreal forest in Ontario. (2019) Logging Scars Project Executive Summary.pdf
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By Garth Mowat et al During the summer of 2015, we surveyed grizzly bears in the Kettle-Granby grizzly bear population unit (GBPU) to help assess population status and map the distribution of bears within the unit. Our first objective was to estimate the current population abundance and density of grizzly bears and map their summer distribution. Our second objective was to investigate whether landscape conditions such as habitat quality and road density were related to bear abundance. Based on our results, we provide recommendations for improving the viability of the grizzly bear population in the Kettle-Granby GBPU. (2017) The Relationships among Road Density, Habitat Quality, and Grizzly Bear Population Density in the Kettle-Granby Area of British Columbia.pdf
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By Clayton T. Lamb et al Human activities have dramatic effects on the distribution and abundance of wild- life. Increased road densities and human presence in wilderness areas have elevated human-caused mortality of grizzly bears and reduced bears’ use. Management agencies frequently attempt to reduce human-caused mortality by managing road density and thus human access, but the effectiveness of these actions is rarely assessed. We combined systematic, DNA-based mark–recapture techniques with spatially explicit capture–recapture models to estimate population size of a threatened grizzly bear population (Kettle–Granby), following management actions to recover this population. We tested the effects of habitat and road density on grizzly bear population density. We tested both a linear and threshold-based road density metric and investigated the effect of current access management (closing roads to the public). We documented an c. 50% increase in bear density since 1997 suggesting in- creased landscape and species conservation from management agencies played a significant role in that increase. However, bear density was lower where road densities exceeded 0.6 km/km2 and higher where motorized vehicle access had been restricted. The highest bear densities were in areas with large tracts of few or no roads and high habitat quality. Access management bolstered bear density in small areas by 27%. 4. Synthesis and applications. Our spatially explicit capture–recapture analysis demonstrates that population recovery is possible in a multi-use landscape when management actions target priority areas. We suggest that road density is a useful surrogate for the negative effects of human land use on grizzly bear populations, but spatial configuration of roads must still be considered. Reducing roads will increase grizzly bear density, but restricting vehicle access can also achieve this goal. We demonstrate that a policy target of reducing human access by managing road density below 0.6 km/km2, while ensuring areas of high habitat quality have no roads, is a reasonable compromise between the need for road access and population recovery goals. Targeting closures to areas of highest habitat quality would benefit grizzly bear population recovery the most. (2017) Effects of habitat quality and access management on the density of a recovering grizzly bear population.pdf
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By Kevin Boston Forest roads are a necessary element for accessing forestry resources, but their impact on the environment can be significant. Forest roads can cause a variety of impacts on local wildlife that may lead to extirpation: facilitating the spread of invasive organisms, causing death or harm by vehicle strikes, and changing the behaviour of animals to their detriment. Roads create improved access to forests, which can increase predation rates from hunters. Animals may move to avoid traffic noise, increasing their vulnerability to predation by other animals. One of the most significant impacts of forest roads is on water quality, through both catastrophic and chronic sources of water pollution, primarily from sediment. While it is not the case that every road will cause any or all of these impacts, for those that do, mitigation measures can be used to lessen these negative effects. These mitigation measures must begin during the location phase of the road and should continue through construction, use, and maintenance of the roads. Application of these mitigation measures allows forest man- agers to minimize the impacts from their forest roads when necessary. (2016) The Potential Effects of Forest Roads on the Environment and Mitigating their Impacts.pdf
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By Polly C. Buotte et al Forest carbon sequestration via forest preservation can be a viable climate change mitigation strategy. Here, we identify forests in the western conterminous United States with high potential carbon sequestration and low vulnerability to future drought and fire, as simulated using the Community Land Model and two high carbon emission scenario (RCP 8.5) climate models. High-productivity, low-vulnerability forests have the potential to sequester up to 5,450 Tg CO2 equivalent (1,485 Tg C) by 2099, which is up to 20% of the global mitigation potential previously identified for all temperate and boreal forests, or up to ~6 yr of current regional fossil fuel emissions. Additionally, these forests currently have high above- and below-ground carbon density, high tree species richness, and a high proportion of critical habitat for endangered vertebrate species, indicating a strong potential to support biodiversity into the future and promote ecosystem resilience to climate change. We stress that some forest lands have low carbon sequestration potential but high biodiversity, underscoring the need to consider multiple criteria when designing a land preservation portfolio. Our work demonstrates how process models and ecological criteria can be used to prioritize landscape preservation for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and preserving biodiversity in a rapidly changing climate. (2019) Carbon sequestration and biodiversity co-benefits of preserving forests in the western United States.pdf
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A report from the Metcalf Foundation While the international community has struggled to curtail greenhouse gas emissions, forests around the world have been buying us time to transition to clean, renewable-energy economies. Forests act as giant carbon vaults, storing away in their wood, leaves, and soil more carbon than is found in all currently accessible coal, oil, and gas reserves combined. Forests also continuously add to this carbon vault and in recent decades have absorbed nearly one-third of the greenhouse gases we release each year. The global scientific community has made it clear we must limit warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (C) in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, and that doing so will require not just ending our reliance on fossil fuels, but also protecting intact and primary forests’ ability to store and absorb carbon. (2020) The Logging Loophole.pdf
