Comparison of greenhouse gas emissions from forest operations in Finland and Sweden

Authors: Berg S.¹; Karjalainen T.²

Source: Forestry, Volume 76, Number 3, June 2003 , pp. 271-284(14)

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Abstract:

Forest operations use inputs of external energy, which should be considered when environmental impact in the forest sector is of concern. Operations are highly mechanized in Finland and Sweden, and thus are sources of greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, efficiency has increased as a result of mechanization. Two studies of environmental loads from forest operations in Sweden and Finland are compared in this paper. There are similarities in the forest management system and technology used, but the level of mechanization in thinnings and terrain difficulty differ. Differences occur between countries in CO<inf>2</inf>, CO and NO emissions. These are attributed to variations in operations, technology, and also to quality of fuel used. Some of the differences observed between the two countries are due to the origin of basic data as well as methods used in transforming data to information relevant for environmental assessments. This experience will enable better life cycle assessments where forest operations constitute an important part of the environmental load.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpg031

Affiliations: 1: SkogForsk, Uppsala Science Park, S-751 83 Uppsala, Sweden 2: Finnish Forest Research Institute, Joensuu Research Centre, Yliopistokatu 7, PO Box 68, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland

Publication date: 2003-06-01

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Forestry publishes refereed papers on all aspects of research, practice and policy that promote the sustainable development of forests, woodlands and trees. In considering suitability for publication attention is given to both the originality of contributions and their practical application. Preference is usually given to work undertaken in the temperate and/or boreal zones; only articles of exceptional merit from tropical zones will also be considered.