Review
Forestry
Lee E. Frelich, Rebecca A. Montgomery, Peter B. Reich
Summary: The southern boreal forests of North America may undergo large changes in species composition as the climate warms, with several mechanisms potentially leading to these changes. The impacts may include significant effects on forest productivity, ecosystem services, and wildlife habitat.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ignacio Vitale, Rodolfo G. Dondo, Matias Gonzalez, Mariana E. Coccola
Summary: In order to reduce the use of fossil fuels, forest residues and wood waste are considered as alternative sources of energy. However, the high logistics costs pose as a major barrier in utilizing these materials for bioenergy and biofuels production. This paper investigates the optimization of all logistics activities in the supply chain, aiming to minimize the total operative cost and determine the minimum profitable selling price of the produced wood pellets.
Article
Remote Sensing
Ling Yu, Lei Fan, Philippe Ciais, Stephen Sitch, Rasmus Fensholt, Xiangming Xiao, Wenping Yuan, Jingming Chen, Yingtong Zhang, Xiaocui Wu, Yuanwei Qin, Mingguo Ma, Zhongbing Chang, Mengjia Wang, Kai Yan, Lisheng Song, Jean-Pierre Wigneron
Summary: North American boreal forests have suffered extensive tree mortality and carbon loss due to stand-replacing disturbances, but the impacts on forest dynamics are still unknown. This study used remote sensing data and biomass datasets to estimate the effects of fires, logging, and insect outbreaks on the carbon balance of western North American boreal forests. The results showed significant losses in aboveground biomass for all three disturbances, with fire being the dominant factor for forest recovery. Environmental factors also played a role in forest recovery. These findings have important implications for effective forest management after disturbances.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED EARTH OBSERVATION AND GEOINFORMATION
(2023)
Review
Ecology
D. C. Romualdi, S. L. Wilkinson, P. M. A. James
Summary: This meta-analysis aims to summarize available evidence regarding mountain pine beetle (MPB) and wildfire interactions, and identify environmental and methodological indicators associated with various wildfire responses. The study found that spatial scale, forest fuels, and weather are the main drivers of variation in wildfire response post-outbreak. These findings are crucial for wildfire and forest management agencies, especially in forests newly exposed to this disturbance interaction.
Article
Forestry
Anne-Sophie Caron, Essivi Gagnon Koudji, Ira Tanya Handa, Miguel Montoro Girona, Emma Despland
Summary: Insect outbreaks have significant effects on forest ecosystems, including changes in soil arthropod communities. This study aimed to understand the effects of forest tent caterpillar outbreaks on ant communities in temperate and boreal forests in Canada. The results showed that outbreak sites had decreased ant species richness and increased evenness in boreal forests, with significant changes in species composition. In the temperate forest, similar but weaker patterns were observed. These findings highlight the importance of disturbances like insect outbreaks in driving changes in ant communities.
Article
Forestry
Pierre-Luc Couillard, Serge Payette, Martin Lavoie, Mathieu Fregeau
Summary: The dynamics of boreal forests during the Holocene have been influenced by various disturbances, with stable environmental conditions favoring forest regeneration and potential shifts to alternative states if post-disturbance recovery fails. Although fire is a major disturbance factor, the long-term resilience of most forest ecosystems remains largely unknown. Most closed-crown forests show resilience post-fire, but some forests have transformed into lichen woodlands after fire, indicating precarious resilience.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Zhou Wang, Jian-Guo Huang, Nina Ryzhkova, Jingye Li, Alexander Kryshen, Victor Voronin, Rui Li, Yves Bergeron, Igor Drobyshev
Summary: The study reveals a changing trend in fire activity in the Transbaikal region of southeastern Siberia, with significant relationships to climate factors such as drought and Arctic Oscillation. Granger causality analysis highlights the important role of drought in driving forest fires.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Julia Kelly, Theresa S. Ibanez, Cristina Santin, Stefan H. Doerr, Marie-Charlotte Nilsson, Thomas Holst, Anders Lindroth, Natascha Kljun
Summary: The extreme hot drought in 2018 in central and northern Europe resulted in the worst wildfire season in Sweden in over a century. Factors such as burn severity, salvage-logging, and stand age were found to have impacts on forest soils, with tree root respiration playing a key role in determining post-fire soil CO2 emissions. The study also highlighted the importance of disturbance history and burn severity in predicting changes in the boreal forest carbon sink after wildfires.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Jianjian Kong, Xingjia Xiang, Jian Yang
Summary: The study found that wildfires significantly impacted soil nutrient ratios and had lasting effects on fine root growth. However, the relationship between soil and fine roots weakened over time post-fire. Wildfires strengthened the connection between fine roots and soil nutrient ratios but reduced the impact of soil nutrient supply on fine root growth.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Meisam Ranjbari, Zahra Shams Esfandabadi, Alberto Ferraris, Francesco Quatraro, Mohammad Rehan, Abdul-Sattar Nizami, Vijai Kumar Gupta, Su Shiung Lam, Mortaza Aghbashlo, Meisam Tabatabaei
Summary: This study explores the scientific production related to the biofuel supply chain (BSC) and identifies the research hotspots and emerging topics in this field. The findings provide insights for researchers, stakeholders, and policy-makers in the sustainable energy sector and propose potential research directions for implementing the circular economy model.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Adrianna C. Foster, Jacquelyn K. Shuman, Brendan M. Rogers, Xanthe J. Walker, Michelle C. Mack, Laura L. Bourgeau-Chavez, Sander Veraverbeke, Scott J. Goetz
Summary: Forest characteristics, structure, and dynamics in the North American boreal region are influenced by wildfire intensity, severity, and frequency. Increasing temperatures may result in more intense and frequent fires, but an increase in deciduous forest cover could decrease flammability. A forest model was used to analyze the bottom-up (fuels) and top-down (climate) controls on fire activity and project future dynamics. The model showed good agreement with observations and predicted changes in biomass and fire probability.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Muhammet Enes Onur, Kamil Ekinci, Mihriban Civan, Mehmet Emin Bilgili, Sema Yurdakul
Summary: This study investigated the pelletization of two different biomass types, RDWs and RPS, at varying moisture levels and with different additives. The torrefied pellets had higher ash contents, fixed carbon contents, and heating values compared to their raw counterparts. The torrefied pellets also showed improved stability in moisture absorption.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Siyan Zhao, Li Wang, Yusheng Shi, Zhaocheng Zeng, Biswajit Nath, Zheng Niu
Summary: Forest fire emissions of methane have a significant impact on atmospheric concentration and vegetation budgets. By comparing different emission inventories and satellite data, this study found that QFED2.5 had the highest similarity to satellite data and was the most reliable emission inventory in the study area.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tumpa R. Sarker, Sonil Nanda, Venkatesh Meda, Ajay K. Dalai
Summary: The demand for bioenergy is increasing, and biomass densification offers a sustainable solution to replace coal, reduce carbon emissions, and add value to organic waste. The quality of fuel pellets is influenced by various factors, including biomass type, pretreatments, formulations, densification methods, and conditions.
ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Cong Gao, Ran An, Wenqian Wang, Chunming Shi, Mingyu Wang, Kezhen Liu, Xiaoxu Wu, Guocan Wu, Lifu Shu
Summary: All-season warming may lead to an asymmetric expansion of the lightning fire season, affecting the prolongation of lightning fires in the boreal forest of Northeast China and continuously increasing fire risk.
Article
Forestry
Vincent Gauthray-Guyenet, Robert Schneider, Alexis Achim, Mathieu Fortin, David Pare, Dominique Arseneault
Summary: This study investigated the effects of long-term changes in forest composition and soil properties on the radial growth of sugar maple and balsam fir in northeastern North America's forests. It found that soil nutrients availability, current stand composition, and shifts in vegetation can influence radial growth, but no direct effects of vegetation change on radial growth were detected. Prior stand composition had no influence on radial growth of both studied species.
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Forestry
Antoine Harel, Evelyne Thiffault, David Pare
Summary: The study conducted in boreal balsam fir forests of Quebec, Canada, showed that there was no significant difference in total ecosystem carbon stocks between mature stands and old-growth stands. As mature stands transition to old-growth stage, there appears to be a shift of carbon from live biomass pools towards deadwood and soil FH horizons.
Article
Forestry
T. J. Boettcher, Baburam Rijal, James Cook, Shuva Gautam
Summary: This study aimed to develop a predictive model for the occurrence and abundance of buckthorn in Wisconsin by establishing sample plots and constructing different types of regression models. The ZINB model was identified as the best model for estimating buckthorn presence and abundance, indicating that factors such as stem density, woody species diversity, and environmental variables were important for predicting buckthorn invasion.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Adam Wysocki, Shuva Gautam, Baburam Rijal, Paul Doruska, Kevin Burns
Summary: This study quantifies the potential value of log sorting through scenario-based analysis and proposes an optimization model to allocate logs to the most profitable mills. The results show that log sorting can increase profit in certain locations, but may not be profitable in other areas. The proposed method can help foresters and landowners increase the value of harvested timber and provide guidance on maximizing profit.
Article
Agronomy
Melina Thibault, Evelyne Thiffault, Yves Bergeron, Rock Ouimet, Sylvie Tremblay
Summary: The study compared the accumulation of organic carbon over time in abandoned agricultural lands that were either left to natural succession or afforested with white spruce in Abitibi, Canada. The results showed that both types of lands were carbon sinks.
Article
Biology
Louis De Grandpre, Maryse Marchand, Daniel D. Kneeshaw, David Pare, Dominique Boucher, Stephane Bourassa, David Gervais, Martin Simard, Jacob M. Griffin, Deepa S. Pureswaran
Summary: The progression of a spruce budworm outbreak over seven years is associated with increased soil nutrient fluxes and availability, as well as improved foliage quality in surviving host trees. This positive bottom-up feedback sustains the insect outbreak. Both predation and host nutritional quality influence insect outbreaks, and defoliation caused by insects can also alter the bottom-up effects. Our study demonstrates that herbivory leads to a positive feedback on outbreak severity through improved soil nutrient availability and increased nutrient concentration in plant tissues.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Isabelle Menard, Evelyne Thiffault, Yan Boulanger, Jean-Francois Boucher
Summary: This study assessed the carbon sequestration and mitigation potential of afforestation scenarios with different species in the Province of Quebec, Canada. The results showed that afforestation with black spruce, white spruce, and jack pine can effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the choice of species and forest management strategy has a greater impact on carbon stocks than climate change itself.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2022)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ayaovi Locoh, Evelyne Thiffault, Simon Barnabe
Summary: Forest bioenergy value chains have the potential to promote economic development and mitigate climate change, but there are barriers that hinder their development. This study compares the sustainability of different configurations of forest bioenergy value chains in Quebec, Canada. The results show that wood chip and pellet value chains contribute positively to the regional economy, and increasing biomass feedstock mobilization leads to greater economic benefits. However, it also results in higher greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel energy consumption. Optimizing biomass feedstock and combustion technologies can reduce these emissions.
Article
Soil Science
Michael Philben, Keri Bowering, Frances A. Podrebarac, Jerome Laganiere, Kate Edwards, Susan E. Ziegler
Summary: Stable isotope ratios of soil organic carbon (SOC) are a powerful tool for understanding the soil carbon cycle, but limited understanding of the mechanisms for C isotope fractionation in soil restricts their application. This study examined the relationship between soil respiration, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and SOC using three independent approaches. The results suggest that vertical C transport by plant roots or fungi may be the main driver of the observed C isotope profile.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Raphael Dias Brandao, Evelyne Thiffault, Annie Levasseur
Summary: This paper presents a decision support tool to guide public decision makers in selecting the best residual forest biomass heating project and evaluating its sustainability.
Article
Forestry
Isabelle Menard, Evelyne Thiffault, Werner A. Kurz, Jean-Francois Boucher
Summary: This study assesses the long-term carbon sequestration potential and greenhouse gas emission mitigation after implementing afforestation/reforestation strategies in the Province of Quebec. The results show that plantations without harvesting have greater carbon sequestration potential, but it takes several decades to recover from carbon losses. Both the northern and southern regions have potential for climate change mitigation through afforestation, but better data on abandoned farmlands is needed in the southern region.
Article
Forestry
Shuva Gautam, Luc LeBel, Baburam Rijal
Summary: Forest biomass is a promising bioenergy feedstock with renewable and available qualities. However, its voluminous and heterogeneous characteristics, as well as supply uncertainties, pose challenges. The use of terminals can help secure a uniform supply of biomass by treating and storing it. The decision to use a terminal should consider diverse factors that affect its effectiveness. This study develops a multi-criteria decision-making framework that integrates quantitative and qualitative factors to select terminals, proving to be effective in identifying terminals with high potential to generate value for the bioenergy supply chain.
Article
Agronomy
Antoine Harel, Jean-Daniel Sylvain, Guillaume Drolet, Evelyne Thiffault, Nelson Thiffault, Sylvie Tremblay
Summary: This study modelled the seasonal, intra-seasonal, and spatial variability of soil CO2 emissions using climate variables and remote sensing data in a boreal forest in eastern Canada. The results showed that spatial and intra-seasonal variations have a greater impact on soil CO2 efflux than seasonal variation.
AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Lucas Moreau, Evelyne Thiffault, Robert Beauregard
Summary: The impact of alternative forest management practices on the capacity of the forest sector to reduce radiative forcing was assessed in this study, using the boreal forests of eastern Canada as a case study. The results indicate that logging may not significantly reduce carbon emissions compared to preservation practices and does not yield any climate benefits in terms of radiative forcing. Therefore, it is essential to consider carbon emission temporality, ecosystem carbon dynamics, substitution, and the decay of wood products when developing forest management strategies.
Article
Agronomy
Lucas Moreau, Evelyne Thiffault, Werner A. Kurz, Robert Beauregard
Summary: This study quantified the potential for climate change mitigation by the forest sector in Quebec, Canada by 2050. The results showed that reducing methane emissions from wood products is the fastest and most efficient way to improve the sector's mitigation outcomes.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY BIOENERGY
(2023)
