A life cycle and product type based estimator for quantifying the carbon stored in wood products

Abstract

Background: Timber harvesting and industrial wood processing laterally transfer the carbon stored in forest sectors to wood products creating a wood products carbon pool. The carbon stored in wood products is allocated to end-use wood products (e.g., paper, furniture), landfill, and charcoal. Wood products can store substantial amounts of carbon and contribute to the mitigation of greenhouse effects. Therefore, accurate accounts for the size of wood products carbon pools for different regions are essential to estimating the land-atmosphere carbon exchange by using the bottom-up approach of carbon stock change.

Results: To quantify the carbon stored in wood products, we developed a state-of-the-art estimator (Wood Products Carbon Storage Estimator, WPsCS Estimator) that includes the wood products disposal, recycling, and waste wood decomposition processes. The wood products carbon pool in this estimator has three subpools: (1) end-use wood products, (2) landfill, and (3) charcoal carbon. In addition, it has a user-friendly interface, which can be used to easily parameterize and calibrate an estimation. To evaluate its performance, we applied this estimator to account for the carbon stored in wood products made from the timber harvested in Maine, USA, and the carbon storage of wood products consumed in the United States.

Conclusion: The WPsCS Estimator can efficiently and easily quantify the carbon stored in harvested wood products for a given region over a specific period, which was demonstrated with two illustrative examples. In addition, WPsCS Estimator has a user-friendly interface, and all parameters can be easily modified.

Keywords: Carbon pool; Carbon storage; Estimator; Life cycle; Recycle; Wood products.

Fig. 1

The structure, carbon pools, and carbon flux processes in the Wood Products Carbon Storage Estimator (WPsCS Estimator). Note that the biochar is non-energy use biochar

Fig. 2

Interface of the Wood Products Carbon Storage Estimator (WPsCS Estimator). The default parameters are used in the two case studies of Maine, USA, and the United States (see "Estimator application" Section). To perform an estimation, see Additional file 1

Fig. 3

The annual production of wood products made from the timber harvested in Maine, USA during the period of 1961–2019 (a), and the annual consumption of wood products in the United States from 1961 to 2020 (b)

Fig. 4

Disposal rates for building, exterior use, and home application wood products (a), the recycling rates for solid waste wood materials (building and home application wood products) and paper products (newspaper, graphic paper, and packing paper) (b), and decay rates for waste building, exterior use, home application, and paper wood products in landfills (c)

Fig. 5

The accumulated carbon storage in wood products made from the timber harvested in Maine, USA, during the period of 1961–2019 (a), and the accumulated carbon storage in wood products consumed in the United States during the period of 1961–2020 (b)