Carbon emissions from selectively logged forests in the tropics are strongly affected by logging practices. Although tropical forests are mainly managed under the concession system, only a handful of studies were done to assess the impact of logging practices on emission reductions and future timber supply. In this report, carbon stocks, timber supply, and carbon emission reductions under conventional logging (CVL), reduced-impact logging (RIL), and RIL with special silvicultural treatments (RIL+) were assessed in 3.4 million ha of concession forests for a 55-year project time span. Carbon emissions under a 25-year CVL practiced in Cambodia were estimated at 12.4 TgCO2 year-1 for 55 years. We then tested four cutting cycles of selective logging and our results suggest that a 45-year selective cutting cycle was appropriate for managing concession forests in Cambodia in terms of maintaining commercial timber supply and reducing carbon emissions. By considering RIL or RIL+ as a new logging practice for improving forest management in the tropics, carbon credits from selective logging in Cambodia were estimated at 6.2 - 7.9 TgCO2 or about $31.0 - 39.5 million annually if carbon is priced at $5. It is concluded that RIL or RIL+ should be adopted for “sustainable management of forests” element of the REDD+ scheme.
[1] P. Friedlingstein, R. A. Houghton, G. Marland, J. Hackler, T. A. Boden, T. J. Conway, J. G. Canadell, M. R. Raupach, P. Ciais and C. Le Quéré, “Update on CO2 Emissions,” Nature Geoscience, Vol. 3, No. 12, 2010, pp. 811-812. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1022
[2] Y. Pan, R. A. Birdsey, J. Fang, R. Houghton, P. E. Kauppi, W. A. Kurz, O. L. Phillips, A. Shvidenko, S. L. Lewis, J. G. Canadell, P. Ciais, R. B. Jackson, S. Pacala, A. D. McGuire, S. Piao, A. Rautiainen, S. Sitch and D. Hayes, “A Large and Persistent Carbon Sink in the World’s Forests,” Science, Vol. 333, No. 6045, 2011, pp. 988-993. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1201609
[3] G. Kindermann, M. Obersteiner, B. Sohngen, J. Sathaye, K. Andrasko, E. Rametsteiner, B. Schlamadinger, S. Wunder and R. Beach, “Global Cost Estimates of Reducing Carbon Emissions through Avoided Deforestation,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 105, No. 30, 2008, pp. 10302-10307. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas. 0710616105
[4] N. Sasaki and A. Yoshimoto, “Benefits of Tropical Forest Management under the New Climate Change Agreement—A Case Study in Cambodia,” Environmental Science & Policy, Vol. 13, No. 5, 2010, pp. 384-392. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2010.04.007
[5] F. Toni, “Decentralization and REDD+ in Brazil,” Forests, Vol. 2, No. 1, 2011, pp. 66-85.
[6] N. Sasaki, K. Chheng and S. Ty, “Managing Production Forests for Timber Production and Carbon Emission Reductions under the REDD+ Scheme,” Environmental Science & Policy, Vol. 23, 2012, pp. 35-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2012.06.009
[7] F. E. Putz, P. A. Zuidema, M. A. Pinard, R. G. A. Boot, J. A. Sayer, D. Sheil, P. Sist and J. K. Vanclay, “Improved Tropical Forest Management for Carbon Retention,” PLOS Biology, Vol. 6, No. 7, 2008, Article ID: e166. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0060166
[8] G. P. Asner, E. N. Broadbent, P. J. Oliveira, M. Keller, D. E. Knapp and J. N. Silva, “Condition and Fate of Logged Forests in the Brazilian Amazon,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 103, No. 34, 2006, pp. 12947-12950. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/ pnas.0604093103
[9] D. W. Pearce, E. F. Putz and J. K. Vanclay, “Sustainable Forestry in the Tropics: Panacea or Folly?” Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 172 No. 2-3, 2003, pp. 229-247. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ S0378-1127(01)00798-8
[10] N. Sasaki and F. E. Putz, “Critical Need for New Definitions of Forest and Forest Degradation in Global Climate Change Agreements,” Conservation Letters, Vol. 2, No. 5, 2009, pp. 226-232.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2009.00067.x
[11] S. D. Miller, M. L. Goulden, L. R. Hutyra, M. Keller, S. R. Saleska, S. C. Wofsy, A. M. Figueira, H. R. Da Rocha and P. B. De Camargo, “Reduced Impact Logging Minimally Alters Tropical Rainforest Carbon and Energy Exchange,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol. 108, No. 48, 2011, pp. 19431-19435. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1105068108
[12] N. Kim Phat, W. Knorr and S. Kim, “Appropriate Measures for Conservation of Terrestrial Carbon Stocks— Analysis of Trends of Forest Management in Southeast Asia,” Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 191, No. 1-3, 2004, pp. 283-299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2003.12.019
[13] N. Sasaki, “Carbon Emissions Due to Land-Use Change and Logging in Cambodia—A Modeling Approach,” Journal of Forest Research, Vol. 11, No. 6, 2006, pp. 397-403. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1007/s10310-006-0228-5
[14] P. Sist, D. Sheil, K. Kartawinata and H. Priyadi, “Reduced-Impact Logging in Indonesian Borneo: Some Results Confirming the Need for New Silvicultural Prescriptions,” Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 179, No. 1-3, 2003, pp. 415-427. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(02) 00533-9
[15] S. Ty, N. Sasaki, A. H. Ahmad and A. Z. Zainal, “REDD Development in Cambodia—Potential Carbon Emission Reductions in a REDD Project,” FORMATH, Vol. 10, 2011, pp. 1-23.
[16] FAO, “Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010,” FAO Forestry Paper, Vol. 163, FAO, Rome, 2010.
[17] FA (Forestry Administration), “Forest Cover Statistics in Cambodia 2002-2010,” FA, Phnom Penh, 2011.
[18] N. Sasaki, G. P. Asner, W. Knorr, P. B. Durst, H. Priyadi and F. E. Putz, “Approaches to Classifying and Restoring Degraded Tropical Forests for the Anticipated REDD+ Climate Change Mitigation Mechanism,” iForest—Biogeosciences and Forestry, Vol. 4, 2011, pp. 1-6.
[19] T. P. Holmes, G. M. Blate, J. C. Zweede, R. Pereira, P. Barreto, F. Boltz and R. Bauch, “Financial and Ecological Indicators of Reduced Impact Logging Performance in the Eastern Amazon,” Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 163, No. 1-3, 2002, pp. 93-110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(01)00530-8
[20] M. Pe?a-Claros, T. S. Fredericksen, A. Alarcón, G. M. Blate, U. Choque, C. Lea?o, J. C. Licona, B. Mostacedo, W. Pariona, Z. Villegas and F. E. Putz, “Beyond Reduced-Impact Logging: Silvicultural Treatments to Increase Growth Rates of Tropical Trees,” Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 256, No. 7, 2008, pp. 1458-1467.