Carbon sink potential of radiata pine plantations in Chile

Abstract

The potential amount of carbon (C) accumulated in the bolewood of Pinus radiata plantations in Chile was determined using annual information about forest area by age class and administrative region of the country, and by subtracting that removed due to harvesting. A model was generated to estimate the uncertainty in the prediction of the amount of C, using probabilistic distribution functions. The model uses as stochastic variables the coefficient of C of the wood, the length of rotation, the rate of growth and the annual rate of planting. Data were projected until 2060. Accumulated C increases from 67 Mt in the year 2000 to 169 Mt in the year 2060, at an average rate of 1.70 Mt a-1. At the end of the projection date, the maximum value of C accumulated is estimated at 221 Mt and the minimum value 127 Mt. This calculation includes an expansion of the area planted with Pinus radiata, from 1.5 to 3.0 million ha, with a maximum projected area of 3.4 million and a minimum of 2.6 million ha. This implies an increase in the area planted ranging from 1.1 to 1.9 million ha. The C removed by harvesting in 2000 was an average of 2.3 Mt which increased to 13.8 Mt in the final projection year, at a rate of 0.19 Mt a-1. An average removal of 0.19 Mt a-1 is 11 per cent of the amount accumulated, and implies a removal close to 11 per cent, yielding a positive net balance. The rate of removal of C implies the area to be harvested annually increases from 59 000 ha in 2000 to 113 000 ha in 2060, an increase of 91 per cent. © Institute of Chartered Foresters, 2005.