Abstract

Implementation of the European Union Renewable Energy Directive has triggered exponential growth in trading of pelletized wood fibers. Over 18 million tons of wood pellets were traded by EU member countries in 2018 of which a third were imported from the US. Concerns exist about negative impacts on US forests but systematic assessments are currently lacking. We assessed variability in fundamental attributes for timberland structure and carbon stocks within 123 procurement landscapes of wood pellet mills derived from over 38 thousand forest inventory plots in the eastern US from 2005 to 2017. We found more carbon stocks in live trees, but a fewer number of standing-dead trees, associated with the annual operation of large-scale wood pellet mills. In the US coastal southeast-where US pellet exports to the EU originate-there were fewer live and growing-stock trees and less carbon in soils with every year of milling operation than in the rest of the eastern US-which supplies the domestic market. Greater overlap of mills' procurement areas exhibited discernible increments across selected carbon stocks. These trends likely reflect more intensive land management practices. Localized forest impacts associated with the wood pellet industry should continue to be monitored.

Published in

Scientific Reports
2020, Volume: 10, number: 1, article number: 18607
Publisher: NATURE RESEARCH

SLU Authors

• Aguilar Cabezas, Francisco X

  • Department of Forest Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all


UKÄ Subject classification

Energy Systems


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-75403-z

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/108913