Sustainable management of oleaginous trees as a source for renewable energy supply and climate change mitigation: A case study in China

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelForskningfagfællebedømt

Forests provide a range of ecosystem services, including bioenergy supply and carbon sequestration, both contributing to significant climate change mitigation. Oleaginous trees have potential to provide bioenergy supplies through biodiesel-producing seed yield as well as contributing to carbon sequestration. This paper aims to show the provisions of bioenergy and carbon savings through forest rotation management and it will investigate the potential of oleaginous forest management in China. We use the land expectation value (LEV) model to calculate the optimal joint values of timber, seed and total carbon savings, including carbon sequestration from forest and carbon reductions through energy substitutions. The results indicate that combining both values of seeds and carbon savings increase the LEV and rotation age (167,611 Yuan/ha, 78 years) compared to sole timber value (26,053 Yuan/ha, 55 years). The optimization of the LEVs and the resulting optimal rotation ages are significantly sensitive to the discounting rate. Annual biodiesel potential production from Pistacia chinensis can take up 1.7% of the national diesel consumption in China. We conclude that China can use improved forest rotation management as an effective means for achieving goals in its low-carbon energy strategy.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
Artikelnummer1123
TidsskriftEnergies
Vol/bind11
Udgave nummer5
ISSN1996-1073
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2018
Eksternt udgivetJa

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
This research is funded by China Scholarship Council (CSC). Special thanks to geographer Ioannis Angelidis for providing GIS maps as well as the Anyang Forest Ministry in China for the interviews and providing data.

Funding Information:
Acknowledgments: This research is funded by China Scholarship Council (CSC). Special thanks to geographer Ioannis Angelidis for providing GIS maps as well as the Anyang Forest Ministry in China for the interviews and providing data.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

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