[NatureNS] tree biomass fuel ... calcium loss also critical in

Date: Sun, 14 Apr 2013 12:00:17 -0300
From: David Patriquin <patriqui@dal.ca>
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Hi David & Alison,

For an excellent overview of the forest calcium issue, see:

Soil-Calcium Depletion Linked to Acid Rain and Forest Growth in the  
Eastern United States

By Gregory B. Lawrence and T. G. Huntington

available at
http://ny.water.usgs.gov/pubs/wri/wri984267/


Related studies have been done in Nova Scotia by Paul Arp & Co.
See 2010 poster presentation
Quantifying the impacts of biomass harvesting on nutrient budgets  
across Nova Scotia
(Search x Google to bring up PDF)

The current government/DNR appears to be sitting on the details which  
may contain some inconvenient truths related to possible use of SW  
Nova Scotia forests as chemical feedstocks.








Quoting David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>:

> Hi Dave P. & All,                        Apr 13, 2013
>    Was this effect of Ca on tree productivity established by  
> experiment, e.g. application of Gypsum, or by association ? Genuine  
> Ca deficiency is, as I recall, just about unknown apart from extreme  
> conditions such as Serpentine soils or solution culture.
>
>    In an interesting experiment reported by Reich et al. (Ecology  
> Letters (2005) 8:811-818),14 tree species were grown for 30 years in  
> replicated plots of 'uniform' initial soil and a converse effect was  
> demonstrated; species with high Ca in their leaf litter  
> significantly increased soil Ca and soil pH.
>
>    [BTW, soil pH usually increases as soil Ca increases (there is  
> only so much exchange capacity to go around) but the two can be  
> manipulated independently, e.g. Gypsum will increase soil Ca while  
> having almost no effect on pH.]
>
> Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Patriquin" <patriqui@DAL.CA>
> To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>; "Mary Macaulay" <marymacaulay@hotmail.com>
> Cc: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
> Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2013 12:35 PM
> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] tree biomass fuel ... calcium loss also  
> critical in NS
>
>
>> In addition to concerns raised by the Nature article, a  
>> multi-authored paper  published in the Policy Forum of Science in  
>> 2009 pointed out  that there is a critical accounting error in the  
>> Kyoto Protocol that  allows biomass energy to be treated as carbon  
>> neutral, regardless of  the source. The error is very large for  
>> forest biomass.
>>
>> Searchinger. T.D. et al T.D. et al., 2009. Fixing a Critical  
>> Climate Accounting Error Science 23 October 2009: Vol. 326. no.  
>> 5952, pp.  527-528
>>
>> In addition, we should be concerned about calcium losses in NS. NS  
>> forests are the most or amongst the most intensively harvested in   
>> Canada, half or more of our soils by area are very calcium poor and  
>>  highly susceptible to soil acidification, and the area is stressed  
>> by  acid rain. There are worrying signs that for large areas of  
>> Nova  Scotia (esp in the SW), significant declines in productivity  
>> or other  effects of low calcium may be only 1 or 2 rotations away,  
>> if not  already beginning to happen. Further, climatic warming can  
>> be  expected to exacerbate these stresses, e.g., because the  
>> deciduous  species expected to be favoured have higher calcium  
>> requirements than  softwood.
>>
>> Intensive forest harvesting can only exacerbate this problem, both  
>> by direct removal of nutrients and though increased losses from  
>> leaching.
>>
>> Loss of salmon from many of our rivers is attributed to acid rain  
>> but also reflects reduced levels of calcium in the upland soils.
>>
>> Birds are also affected, see
>> http://news.psu.edu/story/155790/2011/09/15/research-shows-soil-calcium-limits-forest-songbirds
>>
>> ...we have  many reasons to be concerned about continued  
>> clearcutting  in NS, and the obscurification of this issue by the  
>> current government.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Quoting Mary Macaulay <marymacaulay@hotmail.com>:
>>
>>> One of The Economist leaders this week warns against the trend   
>>> toward using forest biomass as fuel (they call it environmental   
>>> lunacy). It's a great article on page 71 for those who subscribe
>>> or at this link
>>> http://www.economist.com/news/business/21575771-environmental-lunacy-europe-fuel-future
>>>
>>> Please circulate this widely. It's nice to see this highly  
>>> respected journal calling an axe an axe.
>>>
>>> Mary Macaulay
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> -----
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>
>
>



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