The present and future resource situation in larch (Larix sukeczewii) and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) stands in Eyjafjördur, Northern Iceland

• Main Author: Davidsson, Benjamin
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås 2012
• Subjects: Iceland; IceForest; Russian larch; Siberian larch; Larix sukeczewii; Lodgepole pine; Pinus contorta; simulation; volume growth; production; VDP::Agriculture and fishery disciplines: 900::Agriculture disciplines: 910::Forestry: 915
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11250/186873

Abstract The study took place at Eyjafjördur, Northern Iceland. In this area an afforestation project called “Nordurlandsskogar” started in year 2000 comprising an area of 936.5 hectares. There were three main objectives of the present study. The first was to estimate the present standing volume and biomass of forests planted from 1983 to 2010. The second was to estimate the future volume and biomass production of the same area. The third was to estimate the wood supply for the next 60 years according to different assumptions for treatments of the forest. Based on a systematic forest inventory carried out in 2011, the present resource status was determined. Three different simulation alternatives to estimate the future resource were carried out with IceForest, a planning program applicable for even- and uneven-aged forests. The planning period was 60 years divided into three 20-year growth periods for all simulations. The first simulation, standard thinning, had similar treatments to those usually done in Iceland over the years, i.e. thinning when basal area reaches 8, 21, 25, 26 or 27 m 2 /ha for different site index classes with removal of 30 % of the standing volume. For the second simulation, extensive thinning, thinning was applied at the same basal areas as the first, but 50 % of standing volume was removed. For the third simulation, few thinnings at high basal area, thinnings were only allowed when basal area reaches 50 m 2 /ha in order to thin as little as possible. 30 % of standing volume was removed. Standing volume of the area today is 8161 m 3 . Total predicted production of the area over a period of 60 years for the first simulation is 578480 m 3 and cutting volume was 220258 m 3 . Total predicted production for the second simulation was 515608 m 3 and cutting volume was 283550 m 3 while they were 426743 m 3 and 4179 m 3 , respectively for the third simulation Both the growth models and the IceForest management planning system seem to work well, providing appropriate results regarding how different ...