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的可再生自然资源，对加拿大的环境、社会和经济福祉作出了重大贡献。为了确保森林资源的管理、采伐和利用达到最大的经济价值，有必要开发一系列综合模型，以支持基于价值和市场驱动的决策战略，而不是基于数量/产量的方法。很少有研究综合了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。该项目代表了一种新的尝试，以更好地理解和量化间伐对加拿大短叶松林分结构，生物量和碳汇的影响。总体目标是建立林分水平模型，以预测加拿大东部间伐短叶松林分的直径分布，生物量和碳汇以及经济价值。更具体地说，本研究是：1）组装各种现有的数据集（2）量化间伐对林分结构的影响，并利用林分基本特征建立间伐林分直径分布模型;（3）建立间伐林分生物量和碳汇模型;（4）将林分生物量和碳汇模型与林分密度管理图（SDMD）相结合，建立综合决策支持系统。该项目将首先也是最重要的是有助于培养高素质的人才（2名本科生，1名硕士，1名博士）。在森林生长/木材质量关系和生态系统建模等领域，这项工作将填补我们的知识空白，间伐对林分结构，生物量，碳封存和经济价值的杰克松，在加拿大最重要的商业物种之一。这项研究将有助于我们更好地了解直径/生物量分布和木材/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.