A. Maarit I. Kallio, Victor F. Strîmbu, Helle Gobakken, Terje Gobakken. (2025). Climate change mitigation through alternative uses of Norwegian forest resources. Silva Fennica vol. 59 no. 1 article id 23066. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.23066

Keywords: harvested wood products; forest sector; biofuels; greenhouse gas emissions; bioeconomy; carbon sink

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The carbon substitution and storage effects related to Norwegian forests and the forest sector were compared under three potential roundwood harvest scenarios: maintaining harvests at 2021 levels, increasing harvests by 20% due to policies aimed at maximizing economic benefits from the forest sector, and reducing harvests by 20% due to biodiversity concerns. For harvested wood products, both the current product structure and hypothetical alternatives were considered. The carbon stock development in forests was projected using a forestry simulation tool for Norway. Many uncertainties in carbon storage, substitution parameters, and data have been addressed using Monte Carlo simulations. Shifting a portion of pulpwood use to produce wood-based insulation materials and textile fibres was found to increase the climate benefits from the Norwegian forest sector. In contrast, the shift to bioethanol production had only a marginal effect compared to the current production structure. The analysis spanned the next two decades, which is a period relevant to the investment and operational lifespan of industrial facilities. The results suggest that during this time, smarter use of harvested roundwood for HWPs with high carbon substitution benefits can be an effective means of climate change mitigation. However, in the long term, enhancing forest carbon sinks by reducing harvests may be more beneficial for the climate, provided that global efforts to reduce emissions from energy production are successful and lead to a decrease in emissions associated with the production of various materials.

Kallio, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, P.O.Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5393-761X E-mail: maarit.kallio@nmbu.no
Strîmbu, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, P.O.Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0588-2036 E-mail: victor.strimbu@nmbu.no
Gobakken, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, P.O.Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway E-mail: helle.ross.gobakken@nmbu.no
Gobakken, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, P.O.Box 5003, NO-1432 Ås, Norway https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5534-049X E-mail: terje.gobakken@nmbu.no

Category : Research article

article id 6993, category Research article

Lars Fridh, Lars Eliasson, Dan Bergström. (2018). Precision and accuracy in moisture content determination of wood fuel chips using a handheld electric capacitance moisture meter. Silva Fennica vol. 52 no. 5 article id 6993. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.6993

Keywords: heating value; biofuels; payment

Highlights: The studied capacitance meter can provide accurate estimates of mean moisture content for chips with M < 50% if a large sample is taken; It should be possible to use the capacitance meter to measure moisture content even for calculating payments depending of the needed accuracy; However a calibration function for each assortment is needed.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

According to the Swedish Timber Measurement Act, measurements affecting payments for wood fuels to landowners must be accurate and precise. In this regard, moisture content is an important quality parameter for wood chips which influences the net calorific value as received and thus the economic value. As standard practice moisture content is determined with the oven-drying method, which is cumbersome to use for deliveries to facilities without drying-ovens, which in turn necessitates that samples are taken elsewhere for measurement. An alternative solution is to use a portable moisture meter. Our aim was to evaluate the precision of a handheld capacitance moisture meter. Accuracy and precision of a capacitance meter was determined in the lab and a calibration function was made. Thereafter, the calibrated moisture meter was compared with the standard method for moisture content determination of truckloads of chips. The capacitance meter showed a moderate accuracy by underestimating moisture content by 6.0 percentage points (pp), compared to the reference method, at a precision of ±3.8 pp (CI 95%). For chips with M > 50%, both accuracy and precision decreased. Calibration increased the accuracy in the follow up study by 3 pp for chips with M < 50% but could not be made for wetter chips. The oven-drying method and the capacitance meter can provide equally accurate estimates of mean moisture content for chips with M < 50% if a larger sample is taken with the latter. It should be possible to use capacitance meters to measure moisture content even when used to calculate payments depending of the needed accuracy. A calibration function for each assortment is needed.

Fridh, Skogforsk, The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden, Uppsala Science Park, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden; Skogsägarna Mellanskog, Uppsala Science Park, Box 127, 751 04 Uppsala, Sweden http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4721-1193 E-mail: lars.fridh@mellanskog.se
Eliasson, Skogforsk, The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden, Uppsala Science Park, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2038-9864 E-mail: lars.eliasson@skogforsk.se
Bergström, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Biomaterials and Technology, S-901 83 Umeå, Sweden E-mail: dan.bergstrom@slu.se

Click this link to register to Silva Fennica.

If you are a registered user, log in to save your selected articles for later access.

Contents alert

Your selected articles

Follow @SilvaFennica