Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The forest property Fagerdal 2:10 was donated to the Swedish University of Agriculture in 1995 by Erik Rönnberg. The dominating species is Norwegian spruce (Picea Abies) and the average age is high due to selective cutting. The aim of this study has been to analyze how the forest on the property should be managed and demonstrate how a better estimated forest data affects the future management. The impact of the management on the carbon stock of the property was also examined.
A forestry plan established in 2009 by Skogssällskapet was used as a basis for the analyses. As a complement to the forestry plan an objective survey was carried out in eight of the stands. The analysis was performed using the Heureka application PlanVis and was based upon three options of different levels of nature conservation; five, zero and 17 percent of the productive forest land.
The result of the analysis indicated that extensive logging may be performed on the property regardless of the chosen conservation alternative. This was mainly due to the forest structure with a high average age and a high timber volume. The difference in value between the suggested alternatives was relatively small and may also be explained by the forest structure. However, the results clearly indicated that the costs of the conservation, counted in crowns, were high.
The results of the objective forest survey demonstrated that the data in the forestry plan differed significantly for at least one variable in seven of the stands, which resulted in other management proposals. On average, poor data quality resulted in a reduction of net present value of 1 891 SEK / ha, while the management proposals set out in the forest plan generated a reduction of 637 SEK / ha, but then only for the first ten years.
The difference in the area of forest land set aside for conservation affected the carbon stock to a very small extent. Regardless of the area of conservation, a significant reduction of the property's carbon storage was observed. In 95 years, the proportion of carbon was between 62 % and 66 % of the value in 2009.