Modelling the impacts of thinning on the structure, biomass, carbon sequestration and economic value of Jack Pine Stands

加拿大的森林是最重要和可再生的自然资源，对其环境、社会和经济福祉作出了重大贡献。为了确保最大限度地管理、采伐和利用森林资源，有必要开发一系列综合模式，以支持基于价值和市场驱动的决策战略，而不是基于材积/产量的方法。很少有研究综合林分密度管理对森林生态系统结构和功能以及碳收支的影响。该项目是一项新的尝试，旨在更好地了解和量化间伐对加拿大樟子松林分结构、生物量和碳固存的影响。总体目标是建立林分水平模型，以预测加拿大东部间伐樟子松林分的直径分布、生物量和碳固存以及经济价值。具体地说，本研究的目的是：1)将现有的各种数据集(G/Y、树/冠大小、木材密度、生物量、固碳量、产品回收率)组合起来，用于模型的参数化和验证；2)量化间伐对林分结构的影响，并利用林分的基本特征建立林分水平直径分布模型；3)建立林分水平上的生物量和碳汇模型；4)将林分水平上的模型与林分密度管理图(SDMD)相结合，开发一个集成的决策支持系统。该项目首先也是最重要的，将有助于培训高素质人才(2名本科生，1名理科硕士)。1名博士和1名博士后)森林生长/木材质量关系和生态系统建模领域。这项工作将填补我们在疏伐对加拿大最重要的商业树种之一杰克松的林分结构、生物量、碳固存和经济价值影响方面的知识空白。这项研究将有助于我们更好地理解直径/生物量分布与木材/产品质量之间的关系。

Canada's forests are most important and renewable natural resource, contributing significantly to its environmental, social and economic well-being. To ensure that the forest resources is managed, harvesting and utilized to its maximum economic values, it is necessary to develop a series of integrated models to support a value-based and market-driven decision-making strategy instead of volume/yield-based approach. There are very few studies that have integrated the impacts of stand density management on forest ecosystem structure and functions and carbon budgets. The proposed project represents new attempt to develop a better understanding and quantifying the impacts of thinning on stand structure, biomass and carbon sequestration of jack pine stands in Canada.The overall objective is to develop stand-level models to predict diameterdistribution, biomass and carbon sequestration and economic value in thinned jack pine stands in Eastern Canada. More specifically, this study is to: 1) assemble various existing dataset (G/Y, tree/crown size, wood density, biomass, carbon sequestration, product recovery) from thinned jack pine stands for model parameterization and validation purposes; 2) quantify the thinning effects on stand structure and to develop stand-level diameter distribution model for thinned stands using the basic stand characteristics;3) develop stand-level biomass and carbon sequestration models for thinned stands; 4) integrate the stand-level models with the Stand Density Management Diagram (SDMD) to develop an integrated decision-support system. This project will first and most importantly contribute to the training of highly qualified personnel (2 undergraduatestudents, 1 M.Sc. 1 Ph.D. and 1 post-doctorate) in the areas of forest growth / wood quality relationships and ecosytsem modelling. This work will fill in our knowledge gap in the thinning effects on stand structure, biomass, carbon sequestration and economic value in jack pine, one of the most important commercial species in Canada. This study will contribute significantly to our better understanding of the relationships between diameter/biomass distribution and wood/product quality.