Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute (vTI), Institute for Agricultural Climate Research, Bundesallee 50, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany.
Carbon Balance Manag. 2011 Aug 19;6:5. doi: 10.1186/1750-0680-6-5.
This study evaluates the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas fluxes to the atmosphere resulting from charcoal production in Zambia. It combines new biomass and flux data from a study, that was conducted in a miombo woodland within the Kataba Forest Reserve in the Western Province of Zambia, with data from other studies.
The measurements at Kataba compared protected area (3 plots) with a highly disturbed plot outside the forest reserve and showed considerably reduced biomass after logging for charcoal production. The average aboveground biomass content of the reserve (Plots 2-4) was around 150 t ha-1, while the disturbed plot only contained 24 t ha-1. Soil carbon was not reduced significantly in the disturbed plot. Two years of eddy covariance measurements resulted in net ecosystem exchange values of -17 ± 31 g C m-2 y-1, in the first and 90 ± 16 g C m-2 in the second year. Thus, on the basis of these two years of measurement, there is no evidence that the miombo woodland at Kataba represents a present-day carbon sink. At the country level, it is likely that deforestation for charcoal production currently leads to a per capita emission rate of 2 - 3 t CO2 y-1. This is due to poor forest regeneration, although the resilience of miombo woodlands is high. Better post-harvest management could change this situation.
We argue that protection of miombo woodlands has to account for the energy demands of the population. The production at national scale that we estimated converts into 10,000 - 15,000 GWh y-1 of energy in the charcoal. The term "Charcoal Trap" we introduce, describes the fact that this energy supply has to be substituted when woodlands are protected. One possible solution, a shift in energy supply from charcoal to electricity, would reduce the pressure of forests but requires high investments into grid and power generation. Since Zambia currently cannot generate this money by itself, the country will remain locked in the charcoal trap such as many other of its African neighbours. The question arises whether and how money and technology transfer to increase regenerative electrical power generation should become part of a post-Kyoto process. Furthermore, better inventory data are urgently required to improve knowledge about the current state of the woodland usage and recovery. Net greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced substantially by improving the post-harvest management, charcoal production technology and/or providing alternative energy supply.
本研究评估了赞比亚木炭生产导致的二氧化碳和其他温室气体向大气的排放。它结合了新的生物量和通量数据，这些数据来自于在赞比亚西部卡塔巴森林保护区内的一片 miombo 林地进行的研究，以及来自其他研究的数据。
卡塔巴的测量结果将保护区（3 个样地）与森林保护区外一个受到高度干扰的样地进行了比较，并显示出在为木炭生产进行采伐后生物量大大减少。保护区（样地 2-4）的平均地上生物量含量约为 150 t ha-1，而受干扰的样地仅含有 24 t ha-1。土壤碳在受干扰的样地中没有明显减少。两年的涡度相关测量结果得出的净生态系统交换值分别为-17±31 g C m-2 y-1，第二年为 90±16 g C m-2。因此，根据这两年的测量结果，没有证据表明卡塔巴的 miombo 林地目前是一个碳汇。在国家层面上，木炭生产导致的森林砍伐可能导致目前人均排放 2-3 t CO2 y-1。这是由于森林再生不良，尽管 miombo 林地的恢复能力很强。更好的收获后管理可以改变这种情况。
我们认为，保护 miombo 林地必须考虑到人口的能源需求。我们估计的全国范围内的生产，在木炭中转化为 10000-15000 GWh y-1 的能源。我们引入的“木炭陷阱”一词描述了这样一个事实，即在保护林地时，必须替代这种能源供应。一个可能的解决方案是，从木炭向电力供应的能源供应转移，这将减轻森林的压力，但需要对电网和发电进行大量投资。由于赞比亚目前无法自行产生这些资金，该国将像其他许多非洲邻国一样，陷入木炭陷阱。问题是，是否以及如何通过资金和技术转让来增加可再生电力发电，成为后京都进程的一部分。此外，迫切需要更好的清单数据来提高对林地使用和恢复现状的了解。通过改善收获后管理、木炭生产技术和/或提供替代能源供应，温室气体净排放可大幅减少。
