Mitigating Wildfire
GHGs, or…
Thank You for NOT
Smoking!
PSW Climate Workshop
Placerville – April 30, 2008
Mark Nechodom, et al. –
mnechodom@fs.fed.us
Alder Springs, California
Placer County, California
Krasnoyarsk, Siberia
Alder Springs Stewardship Project:
Contract with Product Removal
What have my forests done for
me lately….?
„ Three ways in which fuels reduction
projects can reduce greenhouse gas
emissions:
1. Thinning forests improves forest health,
and healthy forests absorb more CO2
from the atmosphere,
2. Thinned forests reduce greenhouse gas
emissions from catastrophic wildfires, and
3. Biomass energy from thinning projects
can replace fossil fuels used to produce
the same amount of energy, reducing
fossil fuel carbon emissions.
Alder Springs Project Goals
¾
¾
¾
¾
Quantify greenhouse gas emission
reductions resulting from fuels treatments
Quantify carbon sequestration resulting from
fuels treatments
Evaluate and quantify potential net carbon
benefits for carbon offset programs
Evaluate potential for renewable energy
credits and incentives to contribute to more
effective and economical forest
management
Alder Springs Project Location
Mendocino National Forest
CA SR-162
Alder Springs
Alder Springs Project Basics
„
Total
Project/Contract
Area = 535 acres.
{ Sawlogs = 1.9
mmbf
{ Mandatory
Biomass Removal
= 75 ac (~ 974
BDTs)
{ Optional Biomass
Removal = 54 ac
(~1034 BDTs)
„
„
„
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Treatments Outside
Contract Area:
Helitorch Rx burning =
1461 ac
Pre-commercial
thinning = 456 ac.
Understory Rx burning
= 1232 ac.
Total Analysis Area =
~4,000 acres
Location of commercial thinning units and Fuel Hazard Rating class
Pre- and post-treatment
measurements
„
„
Random measurement plots within fuel treatment
units
All carbon pools potentially affected by treatment
or fire
{
{
{
„
Trees, tree heights,
canopy density, height to
live crown
Standing and down dead
wood
Understory vegetation,
litter/duff
Fire model inputs
Pre-assigned measurement plots
Pre-treatment field measurements
(Sep 2007)
Preliminary results of pretreatment measurements
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45 plots across 14 treatment units (2 strata)
Carbon pools sampled: all trees >5cm, standing
dead, seedlings, large shrubs, litter/duff, down
dead (10, 100, 1000 hour fuels)
Canopy density, heights, height to live crown
All pools: mean 156 tC/ha (95% CI of 15% of
mean)
{
{
112 tC/ha (72%) in trees, 29 tC/ha in roots, 5 tC/ha
in litter/duff. Remainder in seedlings, understory
vegetation, down dead wood.
Average canopy closure 65%. 75% in commercial
harvest units, 56% in biomass removal units.
Modeling and Data Challenges for Wildfire
Emissions Reduction Credits
Fire Behavior Models
(e.g., FARSITE, FOFEM,
FLAMMAP, etc.)
Veg Inventory &
Growth Models
FU
M
EL
O
Severity Classes?
?
LS
E
D
OR Thinned
Emission
Factors?
Combustion
Efficiencies?
Focal Research Issues
1.
2.
Wildfire and emissions modeling need rapid
improvement – major policy implications
Vegetation Data and Models
a)
b)
3.
4.
5.
Inventory data and models not robust enough for GHG
and C accounting
FIA plot intensity for C pools very low
Lignocellulosic biofuels research needs greater
emphasis on forest-sourced woody biomass
feedstocks
Ecosystem services trade-offs and synergies need
better quantification
Long term climate change adaptation research
need to be better integrated into planning and
adaptive management
Alder Springs and Wildfire
GHG Collaborators
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Mendocino National Forest
Winrock International
Center for Fire Research
and Outreach, Univ of CA,
Berkeley
Spatial Informatics Group
TSS Consultants
Pacific Institute
Placer County, CA
Placer Air Quality
Management District
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Wheelabrator Shasta
Energy, Inc.
Sierra Pacific Industries,
Inc.
CA Dept of Forestry and
Fire Protection
CA Energy Commission
USFS PNW
Sukachev Institute
CA Air Resources Board