Effects of silviculture treatments in a hurricane-damaged forest on carbon storage and emissions in central Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract

Hurricanes cause abrupt carbon reduction in forests, but silviculture treatment can be an effective means of quickly regenerating and restoring hurricane-damaged sites. This study assessed how silviculture treatments affect carbon balance after hurricane damage in central Hokkaido, Japan. We examined carbon storage in trees and underground vegetation as well as carbon emissions from silviculture operations in 25-year-old stands, where scarification and plantation occurred just after hurricane damage. The amount of carbon stored varied according to silviculture treatment. Among three scarification treatments, a scarified depth of 0 cm (understory vegetation removal) led to the largest amount of carbon stored (64.7 t·ha⁻¹ C). Among four plantation treatments, the largest amount of carbon was stored in a Larix hybrid (L. gmelinii var. japonica × L. kaempferi) plantation (80.3 t·ha⁻¹ C). The plantation of Abies sachalinensis was not successful at accumulating carbon (40.5·ha⁻¹ C). The amount of carbon emitted from silviculture operations was 0.05–0.14 t·ha⁻¹ C, and it marginally affected the net carbon balance of the silviculture project. Results indicate that silviculture treatments should be performed in an appropriate way to effectively recover the ability of carbon sequestration in hurricane-damaged forests.

Keywords

carbon emission / carbon storage / forest restoration / hurricane damage / plantation / scarification

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