Modelling effects of charcoal production on the carbon budget in managed oak forests of Central Mexico

Abstract

Increasing non-renewable energy consumption and deforestation causes a rise in global atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. In the case of charcoal, a primary cooking energy in the Global South, demand is expected to increase, raising concern about the effects of wood-based energy production on the carbon cycle. The impact of charcoal production on the carbon cycle has not yet been treated as a disturbance of the carbon cycle for local forests and it is unclear what the impacts are on temperate forests in Central Mexico. Does logging and burning wood in high-temperature kilns for charcoal production decrease net ecosystem carbon? A yield-driven carbon budget model was used to simulate a Central Mexican temperate oak forest, managed for charcoal production. Carbon stocks and emissions were compared with an unmanaged system that has a history of charcoal production but is not managed at present and as a control, a conserved system was simulated that was not disturbed. These systems were simulated for 200 years to compare carbon increments and losses. Logging in the managed area was expected to reduce total biomass of the system and this was observed. When left unmanaged, biomass was higher than in a conserved system, which can be attributed to coppicing of trees after logging. The impact of management changes over time and while the first 30 years of simulated charcoal production leads to a negative carbon balance, i.e. more carbon is emitted than sequestered, the net ecosystem productivity then increases and after 50 years, the managed system has more carbon increment than loss. This implies that charcoal production can lead to increased carbon emissions on the short term but for the long term it can increase ecosystem productivity. Charcoal production might therefore be a sustainable alternative for non-renewable energy sources.