by Madelon Wise, Technical Publications Editor Everywhere we go these days, we hear about climate change. But what does the term mean? Climate change refers to changes in our long-term weather patterns and the environment caused by increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) released into the atmosphere. The primary cause of GHGs, which trap heat that would otherwise radiate back into space, is humans burning fossil fuels.
Forest Service researchers have studied the effects of climate change and air pollutants on forests and grasslands for over 30 years, identifying trends and subsequent effects on ecosystems across the United States. Exemplifying Forest Service involvement in this timely subject is Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) Director Chris Risbrudt's October trip to Beijing, China, where he presented on the role of research in global climate change at the Chinese Academy of Forestry's 50th anniversary ceremony and International Symposium of Heads of Forest Research Institutions. Reflecting on this experience, Risbrudt stated that leaders of all 16 countries represented would agree that "An effective way to deal with accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is to store it in forest products, such as houses. We must also recycle carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by using biofuels instead of adding carbon to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels." That the Forest Service is a leader in climate change research was borne out when 13 Forest Service scientists who worked with the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007, along with Al Gore, Jr. Ken Skog, project leader and scientist for the Economics and Statistics Research group at the FPL, was among these distinguished Forest Service scientists. FPL research is contributing significantly to the climate change effort, and an interview with Ken Skog revealed the extent to which Skog and his group are involved in climate change research, which Skog says "is the better part of my work." According to Skog, "The Forest Service strategy for climate change involves two broad-based strategies: adaptation and mitigation." Adaptation strategies aim to prepare the landscape and its habitants for the new climate, whereas mitigation strategies attempt to slow down the process of climate change. Mitigation involves undertaking activities aimed at reducing the extent of accumulation of GHGs in the atmosphere, and it is in this arena that most FPL research concentrates. One example of mitigation is substantially offsetting emissions of GHGs by implementing technologies to use small-diameter timber, which aids in reducing fire hazards and in turn reduces GHG emissions from wildfire. Using and creating markets for small-diameter material and low-valued trees removed from forest restoration activities is the business of the Forest Service Biomass Utilization Grants program administered by the Technology Marketing Unit housed at FPL. This innovative program is intended to improve forest restoration efforts by such activities as reducing hazardous fuels, handling insect and diseased conditions, or treating forestlands affected by catastrophic weather events. These funds are targeted to help communities, entrepreneurs, and others turn residues from forest restoration activities into marketable forest and energy products. FPL researchers are continually evaluating the economic effectiveness of projects funded under the grants program. Examples of small-diameter technologies include using round timbers for buildings, generating power from wood scraps with a Biomax, small-scale wood heating with the Fuel for Schools program, and improved harvesting systems. Another area of mitigation research is transportation fuel, which accounts for about one-third of total U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide. Historically, the greatest increases in energy demand have been for transportation fuels, and known fossil fuel reserves are declining. Fossil fuel combustion is steadily increasing the concentrations of carbon dioxide and other GHGs in the atmosphere. Computer models predict that changes in atmospheric composition will increase global temperatures and continue to cause profound changes in weather patterns. At the same time that our need for alternative fuels becomes more pressing, large areas of forest lands are littered with an unnatural accumulation of stunted trees and woody debris. Decades of fire suppression have disrupted the natural fire cycle of U.S. forests. Fires on these overstocked stands are more intense and harder to control than forest fires in previous decades, and they contribute substantially to GHGs. Using these accumulated forest materials to create cleaner transportation fuels could play an important role in addressing climate change. Trees are one of the best potential sources of biological fuel, although they present some challenges because of the difficulty of extracting energy from lignocellulose, the principal material component of trees. To break down stubborn lignocellulose, woody biomass is generally pretreated during ethanol production. The work of FPL scientists brings the process of converting woody biomass to fuel closer to reality. Although more challenging than creating biofuel from agricultural matter, converting wood resources to liquid fuels and chemical feedstock is becoming more cost competitive, and FPL is a leader in innovative research on forest biomass to energy production. Along with our concerns about climate change, exciting new opportunities are emerging for meeting global energy needs and simultaneously creating high-value bio-based products. FPL economist Peter Ince and others are evaluating business cases for making biofuels using selected biochemical and thermochemical technologies. These include evaluation of extracting hemicellulose from wood at pulp mills prior to pulping and converting it to ethanol, and evaluation of a process to gasify wood and convert it to fuels such as biodiesel. Skog serves on another team that is also evaluating the potential for biofuels. The team includes researchers from the University of California-Davis, Department of Energy, Forest Service, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This is a national study to identify optimal locations for biofuels plants that will use wood and agricultural feedstocks throughout the United States. An additional team formed by the Forest Service with leadership from the University of Washington will provide a life-cycle inventory for producing biofuels from wood. The study will determine, in part, how much fossil energy use and GHG emissions are associated with wood biofuels and other wood energy production. This information is needed to know how wood biofuels technologies can meet standards and targets to produce biofuels under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act. Skog says that another significant mitigation technique is to "develop more durable long-lived housing systems that store carbon for a longer time." The Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM), of which Skog is a member, is a not-for-profit consortium of 15 research institutions studying the environmental effects of producing and using wood-based building products. Skog explains that a CORRIM life-cycle assessment considers "The entire cycle, from taking the wood out of forest, to making products, to building, running, and disposing of a house." One activity of CORRIM is to compare different kinds of houses, such as an all-wood house and houses built with steel or concrete components. Current research shows that wood houses result in less energy emissions and similar waste. CORRIM research also shows 26% and 31% greater global warming potential for steel and concrete buildings, respectively, than for wood frame buildings. By substituting wood for steel or concrete, less GHG emissions result. The FPL is also collaborating with CORRIM to evaluate the most effective ways that forest management regimes, product use, and wood fuel use can offset GHG emissions. GHG offsets result from carbon storage in forests, wildfire emissions reduction, carbon storage in wood products, wood energy use in place of fossil fuels, and substitution of wood products for products that call for more emissions in their production. These are but a part of the research activities Skog and other FPL scientists are conducting around climate change. As is evident by the multidisciplinary and far-reaching science at FPL, the lab is working on many levels to grapple with the problems and opportunities brought at this crucial time in history.
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