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Index of Subjects
Index of Subjects This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_2C26_01D1498B.D0A681F0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi Mary, Jim & All, Jan 7, 2016 By biomass I meant cutting trees (but clear cutting only in very = exceptional circumstances), mowing Miscanthus,.... and ultimately = burning for power. It is a grave mistake to imagine that carbon accumulation in a = forest continues for all time. David Suzuki preached this for a while = but retracted about 20 years ago. After few decades or many, depending = upon initial state, a point is reached whereby release of carbon dioxide = by forest litter and soil equals the carbon fixed in any one year. This = steady state neither gains nor loses CO2. Consult a copy of The Soil = Resource Hans Jenny Ecological Studies 37 1980, 377 pp; fluff free so = about 400 hrs would be a good start. A steady state forest does store carbon until a dry period hits, as = it has out west for several years, and one has huge forest fires. And = dry or not there are some forest fires every year. And on the heels of a = forest fire, unless there is very rapid regeneration, there will be = large losses of CO2 from soil, as in clear cuts. As an aside, I have been selectively cutting trees for firewood, off = and on, for 72 years and I am confident that most cuts quickly led to = greater growth rates of the remaining trees and greater rates of carbon = capture. I don't want to put words in Jamie's mouth or actions in his = hands but, unless I have wires crossed, he also cuts trees selectively = for firewood and I suspect that given the same setting we would very = often make similar choices.=20 Also as an aside, one learns by making mistakes and I have learned = much that way. For example in 1971 I bought a woodlot south of Wolfville = with the view that the best way to protect woodland was to buy and not = cut it. For 10 years I spent many weekends thinning perhaps 5% of the = area and keeping the lines clear and in 1981 got a nearby lot and = neglected the first. At the time of the cutting craze (high prices) I = received many phone calls from those wanting to buy stumpage and refused = all. I was called all kinds of names, most having something to do with = fool and was warned that many would die if I did not have the larger = trees removed. It turns out they were correct. Many did die or perhaps = even worse survive and crowd nearby trees. In the wind of Dec 2010 many = more went over and in much of those woods one would be unwise to walk = without a chainsaw; land in a tangle of 10' Fir thickets and cross piled = windfalls is just plain dangerous to walk across without a saw to cut a = path if need be. With the objective of making matters easier for my = executors I put it up for sale and the only serious offer was from a = logger, about my age, who had cut some there when he was young. He has = two (?) sons and I am sure they will do a better job of managing it than = I did. In the North Alton woodlot about 2003 my neighbor had a harvester on = his lot and offered to selectively cut about 20 acres of mine which he = claimed would soon die if not thinned; the offer was (?) $40,000 = guaranteed and half of any remaining profit. I agreed to this, slept on = it and backed out. Once again he was correct; probably 80% of these = trees did die and there are large patches bare of live trees.=20 The discussion about woodland, from my perspective, is whether and = how the desirable features of selective cutting for firewood can be = effected by machinery for biomass and therefore be cost-effective, = improve the forest and decrease net CO2 emissions. We have strayed into = several side issues but this is a necessary step so all or most can = agree on what is known or can be known. For nearly a year now I have intended to make some comments about = possible futures for NS forests and this current discussion may lead = into that subject eventually. It is a topic which I think needs to be = carefully reconsidered in all respects.=20 My time and energy is largely taken up in 24/7 home care so time is = usually limited to fragments of time between chores. But I do generally = have ~3 hrs free when Alison has a nap between 12:30 and 3:30. So Jim = (and Mary if business takes you this way) I would be delighted to show = you a Pine stand which has been cut much and in need again of thinning = (the 2010 wind thinned some and my Nephews thankfully extracted the = logs) and some of the consequences of not thinning soon enough as = viewed in North Alton. The average age of NS forests, so I understand, is about 40 years. = Non-commercial thinning costs, and the forestry outlook has been = depressed, so I suspect many are overstocked. By cutting intelligently = one could, using mechanical harvesters, clear cut 1/5 of the area for 9' = wide travel ways and then thin the remaining 80% to overcome suppression = and come away with biomass for burning. And depending upon the state of the forest, there may be great net = release of CO2 in an unthinned forest if e.g. the trees are overstocked = such that nearly all die after a long period of poor CO2 fixation of = ongoing release from the litter & soil. And so to bed, Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Jim Wolford=20 To: naturens=20 Sent: Thursday, January 07, 2016 5:10 PM Subject: Fwd: [NatureNS] Red Herring & Forestry I fear Mary is reading into =93biomass=94 its harvesting and burning, = which I=92m sure was not intended by David W. And yes to Mary=92s = second sentence. from Jim in Wolfville. Begin forwarded message: From: Mary Macaulay <marymacaulay@hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Red Herring & Forestry Date: January 7, 2016 at 3:50:03 PM AST To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca Reply-To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca You lost me at: "Biomass, from forest or otherwise, is one potential way to reduce = carbon footprint so I think every effort should be made to foster and = expand this as quickly as possible." I'm hoping you meant storing Carbon in biomass by leaving forests = intact rather than burning them...? But I fear not. With kindest regards Mary (Macaulay), P.Eng. Queen Bee, Insect Recovery Project Owner, Remember Adventures Pedal Buggy & snowshoe rentals, picnics, great bird friendly coffee, = breakfast & pasta, pollinator meadow, games & more!!=20 (Open Wed to Sunday: 8:30 a