Evaluation of carbon stocks of domestic wood products to improve carbon sinks in the forest sector

Abstract

Harvested Wood Products (HWP) is recognized as a carbon pool in the forest sector, along with biomass, dead wood, litter and soil. There was a debate about which country should include carbon stocks in imported or exported HWP. At the 17th Conference of the Parties in Durban (COP17) in 2011, domestic harvested wood products were accepted as accounted carbon pools and thus have to be reported by all Parties included in Annex I. Although the HWP carbon calculation method related to this has been suggested since the IPCC 2006 guidelines, it could not be calculated due to the lack of HWP statistics data in Korea.<br /> In this study, to estimate the carbon stock and the annual stock changes for each of the HWP categories. Input data on the production of wood products used in the model to estimate carbon emissions and removals from HWP in Korea were acquired from database of the 'Wood utilization survey report' and 'Statistical yearbook of Forestry' in Korea Forest Service. In particular, statistic data on production of sawnwood, wood-based panels and paper and paperboard were obtained for the period 1989–2019. It used the first order decay function with default half-lives of 35, 25 and two years, respectively. For the conversion of wood volume or weight into carbon the default conversion factors and half-lives provided by IPCC guideline. As a result of the calculation, it was estimated that about 0.7 million tCO2 was stored according to the use of domestic wood products in 2019. It is expected that it will be possible to quantify the carbon storage effect of HWP and to activate the use of wood products. Indeed, it could change if life expectancy of HWPs improves into the future. Furthermore, additional mitigation potential may be achieved when substituting emissions-intensive materials.

Keywords: Sustainable forest management, Climate change, Value chain

ID: 3619351