Evaluating the impacts of wood production and trade on bird extinction risks

Biodiversity loss can be accelerated by human consumption in regions that are far removed from habitat degradation because of economic globalization, but no study has directly quantified the effects of global trade on extinction risks at a global scale with consideration for species differences. We propose a novel biodiversity footprint index based on bird extinction risks to evaluate the effects of global wood production and trade on biodiversity. Using 536 endangered bird species threatened by wood harvesting and logging, we calculated the “quasi-extinction” probabilities, that is, the probabilities that population sizes become lower than an extinction threshold after habitat loss based on initial population sizes and forest habitat loss rates. We then used bilateral wood trade data to link the biodiversity impacts in wood exporters to wood importers. We found that if recent trends in forest cover loss continue until 2100, bird species in Brazil would be the most rapidly and heavily affected by wood production and trade, followed by those in Indonesia; these two countries alone would account for about half of all global bird extinctions. Large-scale wood importers (i.e., China, Japan, and the United States) significantly elevate overseas extinction risks and, simultaneously, reduce domestic impacts, indicating a heavy responsibility of these countries for global biodiversity loss. We also conducted a scenario analysis, which showed that the total projected number of extinct species would not decrease if each country produced the amount of wood materials necessary to meet current consumption levels. This is because bird extinction risks in tropical wood importers, such as Mexico and the Philippines, as well as Japan and China will increase if these countries increase domestic wood production. Our biodiversity footprint index is useful to identify countries whose bird species are highly affected by wood production and trade, and to quantify the role of wood trade in bird species extinctions. Additional scenario analyses are needed to establish effective patterns of wood production and consumption for bird biodiversity conservation.     

Environmental impacts of European trade: interpreting results of process-based LCA and environmentally extended input–output analysis towards hotspot identification

Purpose

Trade is increasingly considered a significant contributor to environmental impacts. The assessment of the impacts of trade is usually performed via environmentally extended input–output analysis (EEIOA). However, process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) applied to traded goods allows increasing the granularity of the analysis and may be essential to unveil specific impacts due to traded products.

Methods

This study assesses the environmental impacts of the European trade, considering two modelling approaches: respectively EEIOA, using EXIOBASE 3 as supporting database, and process-based LCA. The interpretation of the results is pivotal to improve the robustness of the assessment and the identification of hotspots. The hotspot identification focuses on temporal trends and on the contribution of products and substances to the overall impacts. The inventories of elementary flows associated with EU trade, for the period 2000–2010, have been characterized considering 14 impact categories according to the Environmental Footprint (EF2017) Life Cycle Impact Assessment method.

Results and discussion

The two modelling approaches converge in highlighting that in the period 2000–2010: (i) EU was a net importer of environmental impacts; (ii) impacts of EU trade and EU trade balance (impacts of imports minus impacts of exports) were increasing over time, regarding most impact categories under study; and (iii) similar manufactured products were the main contributors to the impacts of exports from EU, regarding most impact categories. However, some results are discrepant: (i) larger impacts are obtained from IO analysis than from process-based LCA, regarding most impact categories, (ii) a different set of most contributing products is identified by the two approaches in the case of imports, and (iii) large differences in the contributions of substances are observed regarding resource use, toxicity, and ecotoxicity indicators.

Conclusions

The interpretation step is crucial to unveil the main hotspots, encompassing a comparison of the differences between the two methodologies, the assumptions, the data coverage and sources, the completeness of inventory as basis for impact assessment. The main driver for the observed divergences is identified to be the differences in the impact intensities of goods, both induced by inherent properties of the IO and life cycle inventory databases and by some of this study’s modelling choices. The combination of IO analysis and process-based LCA in a hybrid framework, as performed in other studies but generally not at the macro-scale of the full trade of a country or region, appears a potential important perspective to refine such an assessment in the future.

     

Biodiversity conservation in China: Legislation, Plans and Measures

China is one of the megadiversity countries with over 30,000 species of higher plants and 6347 species of vertebrates, including numerous endemic species and relict species. The vast territory, with its various climates and landforms have formed complex and manifold habitats and rich diversity of ecosystems. China is a signatory country to several international conventions and agreements related to biodiversity and has established a legislation framework for biodiversity conservation. State, interdepartmental, departmental plans related to biodiversity have been made, such as Chinas Agenda 21, the Chinese Country Study on Biological Diversity, the Chinese Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan, the Chinese Environmental Protection Action Plan, and the Guideline for Nature Reserve Development Planning in China (1996–2010). Great efforts have also been made to protect natural resources and the environment, including policies for in situ and ex situ conservation, ecological construction, scientific research, education and training, and international cooperation. However, under the high pressure of population and economy, severe contradiction exists between conservation and the exploitation of biodiversity. This paper describes such achievements and related problems.     

Experiences from the implementation of a biosafety system in Slovenia

The development and implementation of an effective national biosafety system is important for several key reasons: to ensure safe access to products of modern biotechnology, to build public confidence, to encourage the growth of domestic modern biotechnology, and to comply with international standards and agreements. There is no single best approach in the development and implementation of a national biosafety system and each country is faced with unique challenges. Slovenia is a small country and a new EU Member State. However, it has developed and implemented an efficient national biosafety system. The key elements of this system are administrative procedure, risk assessment, enforcement, and public participation and information.     

森林伐后碳减排核算方法演进与展望

森林生态系统的碳汇功能对我国完成“双碳目标”具有独特意义,其中森林伐后碳减排,包括木质林产品全生命周期内的碳储和替代减排,是增强林业中长期碳减排能力的重要路径。当前我国森林伐后碳减排研究尚落后于欧美等发达国家,不利于我国林业国家碳库模型的构建以及更好地指导固碳增汇的森林管理策略。系统回顾了近30余年国内外学术界关于森林伐后碳减排方法学的演进动态,总结了碳循环和碳减排模型的核心参数,为推进我国森林伐后碳减排研究提供理论基础。学术界近30余年涉及方法模型的主要成果如下：(1)建立并完善了立足于木材采伐国的生产法和简单分解法,以及立足于终端木质林产品消费国的储量变化法和大气流动法两类方法框架;(2)形成了体系化的碳储计算模型,并在包括发达国家和主要发展中国家取得了大量实测数据和参数积累;(3)初步完成了替代减排分析模型和基于情景设定的分析框架,并在以欧美国家为主体的部分地区进行了应用。在梳理历史文献的基础上,本研究认为当前存在的方法缺陷包括：第一,既有依靠实测调研获取数据的成本过高,限制了研究国家的深度和广度,尤其导致广大发展中国家研究较为薄弱;第二,当前方法框架在追踪木质林产品贸易流方面较...     

Framework for Modelling Economic Impacts of Invasive Species,Applied to Pine Wood Nematode in Europe

Background

Economic impact assessment of invasive species requires integration of information on pest entry, establishment and spread, valuation of assets at risk and market consequences at large spatial scales. Here we develop such a framework and demonstrate its application to the pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, which threatens the European forestry industry. The effect of spatial resolution on the assessment result is analysed.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Direct economic impacts resulting from wood loss are computed using partial budgeting at regional scale, while impacts on social welfare are computed by a partial equilibrium analysis of the round wood market at EU scale. Substantial impacts in terms of infested stock are expected in Portugal, Spain, Southern France, and North West Italy but not elsewhere in EU in the near future. The cumulative value of lost forestry stock over a period of 22 years (2008–2030), assuming no regulatory control measures, is estimated at €22 billion. The greatest yearly loss of stock is expected to occur in the period 2014–2019, with a peak of three billion euros in 2016, but stabilizing afterwards at 300–800 million euros/year. The reduction in social welfare follows the loss of stock with considerable delay because the yearly harvest from the forest is only 1.8%. The reduction in social welfare for the downstream round wood market is estimated at €218 million in 2030, whereby consumers incur a welfare loss of €357 million, while producers experience a €139 million increase, due to higher wood prices. The societal impact is expected to extend to well beyond the time horizon of the analysis, and long after the invasion has stopped.

Conclusions/Significance

Pinewood nematode has large economic consequences for the conifer forestry industry in the EU. A change in spatial resolution affected the calculated directed losses by 24%, but did not critically affect conclusions.     

Euros vs. Yuan: Comparing European and Chinese Fishing Access in West Africa

We compare the performance of European Union (EU) and Chinese fisheries access agreements with West African countries in terms of illegal and unreported fishing, economic equity, and patterns of exploitation. Bottom-up re-estimations of catch reveal that the EU (1.6 million t•year^-1) and China (2.3 million t•year^-1) report only 29% and 8%, respectively, of their estimated total catches (including estimated discards whenever possible) from West African countries between 2000 and 2010. EU catches are declining, while Chinese catches are increasing and are yet to reach the historic maximum level of EU catches (3 million t•year^-1 on average in the 1970s-1980s). The monetary value of EU fishing agreements, correlated in theory with reported catches, is straightforward to access, in contrast to Chinese agreements. However, once quantified, the value of Chinese agreements is readily traceable within the African economy through the different projects they directly cover, in contrast to the funds disbursed [to host governments] by the EU. Overall, China provides resources equivalent to about 4% of the ex-vessel value [value at landing] of the catch taken by Chinese distant-water fleets from West African waters, while the EU pays 8%. We address the difficulties of separating fees directly related to fishing from other economic or political motivations for Chinese fees, which could introduce a bias to the present findings as this operation is not performed for EU access fees officially related to fishing. Our study reveals that the EU and China perform similarly in terms of illegal fishing, patterns of exploitation and sustainability of resource use, while under-reporting by the EU increases and that by China decreases. The EU agreements provide, in theory, room for improving scientific research, monitoring and surveillance, suggesting a better performance than for Chinese agreements, but the end-use of the EU funds are more difficult, and sometime impossible to ascertain.     

Bird conservation and the U.K. Biodiversity Action Plan

The Biodiversity Convention requires parties to prepare national plans with strategies for the conservation of biodiversity. The U.K. produced its Action Plan in January 1994, one of the first countries to do so. The document of nearly 200 pages sets out the rationale for conserving biodiversity and the U.K. scientific tradition which underpins our understanding of biodiversity and describes in very summary form the key characteristics of U.K. biodiversity and the resources we devote to sustaining it, both in situ and ex situ, as well as our contribution to assisting conservation outside the U.K. It goes on to consider the role of education and public information and the need to improve the coordination and accessibility of scientific data and monitoring. Finally, it sets out a range of targets and commitments including a proposal to set up machinery, involving non-governmental interests, to agree on specific targets for key species and habitats in 1995. The main emphasis of the Plan and the work ahead is to create a collaborative framework for the large but fragmented efforts by the public voluntary sectors to reverse recent losses of biodiversity. In many ways bird conservation and population monitoring provide a benchmark for other species work. Bird conservation will benefit from the increased integration of effort and scientific analysis which looks at the interaction of species, habitats and wider land use issues and the effect of sectoral policies such as agriculture, energy and transport.     

后疫情时代全球可持续发展目标加速行动的推动

“SDGs加速行动”是国际组织、政府部门、私营机构和其他利益攸关方为加快落实2030年可持续发展议程采取的全球行动。2019年联合国可持续发展目标峰会后,政府、国际组织、私营部门等提出了214项SDGs加速行动。2019年爆发的新型冠状病毒肺炎（Corona Virus Disease 2019,COVID-19）对实现可持续发展目标带来了系列影响,后疫情时代如何推动全球SDGs加速行动的实施成为重要的问题。对可持续发展评估报告（2019）和可持续发展目标加速行动等政策文件进行信息提取,建立加速行动匹配性指数模型和各国应对新冠疫情的恢复力指数模型,根据匹配性-恢复力分类体系将各国按照17项可持续发展目标分为9类,为推动后疫情时代全球可持续发展目标加速行动提供支撑。研究发现：（1）现有可持续发展目标加速行动的实施与区域需求不匹配,且这种不匹配的情况在COVID-19爆发前已经出现;（2）加速行动的实施受限于现有可持续发展水平和国家经济基础,区域关注的可持续发展目标与其自然地理位置和社会发展水平有着密切的关系,多边组织机构和其他利益攸关方需要在发展中国家大力推动可持续发展加速行动;（3）下一步实施加速行动需要加强国际间的合作,根据分类框架和可持续发展目标的关联关系,分重点推进加速行动的实施,完善可持续发展指标监测体系,分类设立后疫情时代不同时期的阶段目标,分阶段循序渐进,定期反馈追踪,以在2030年促进17项可持续目标的实现。     

Is land use impact assessment in LCA applicable for forest biomass value chains? Findings from comparison of use of Scandinavian wood,agro-biomass and peat for energy

Purpose

A framework for the inclusion of land use impact assessment and a set of land use impact indicators has been recently proposed for life cycle assessment (LCA) and no case studies are available for forest biomass. The proposed methodology is tested for Scandinavian managed forestry; a comparative case study is made for energy from wood, agro-biomass and peat; and sensitivity to forest management options is analysed.

Methods

The functional unit of this comparative case study is 1 GJ of energy in solid fuels. The land use impact assessment framework of the United Nations Environment Programme and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (UNEP-SETAC) is followed and its application for wood biomass is critically analysed. Applied midpoint indicators include ecological footprint and human appropriation of net primary production, global warming potential indicator for biomass (GWP_bio-100) and impact indicators proposed by UNEP-SETAC on ecosystem services and biodiversity. Options for forest biomass land inventory modelling are discussed. The system boundary covers only the biomass acquisition phase. Management scenarios are formulated for forest and barley biomass, and a sensitivity analysis focuses on impacts of land transformations for agro-biomass.

Results and discussion

Meaningful differences were found in between solid biofuels from distinct land use classes. The impact indicator results were sensitive to land occupation and transformation and differed significantly from inventory results. Current impact assessment method is not sensitive to land management scenarios because the published characterisation factors are still too coarse and indicate differences only between land use types. All indicators on ecosystem services and biodiversity were sensitive to the assumptions related with land transformation. The land occupation (m²a) approach in inventory was found challenging for Scandinavian wood, due to long rotation periods and variable intensities of harvests. Some suggestions of UNEP-SETAC were challenged for the sake of practicality and relevance for decision support.

Conclusions

Land use impact assessment framework for LCA and life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) indicators could be applied in a comparison of solid bioenergy sources. Although forest bioenergy has higher land occupation than agro-bioenergy, LCIA indicator results are of similar magnitude or even lower for forest bioenergy. Previous literature indicates that environmental impacts of land use are significant, but it remains questionable if these are captured with satisfactory reliability with the applied LCA methodology, especially for forest biomass. Short and long time perspectives of land use impacts should be studied in LCA with characterisation factors for all relevant timeframes, not only 500 years, with a forward-looking perspective. Characterisation factors need to be modelled further for different (forest) land management intensities and for peat excavation.     

Carbon pools of an intact forest in Gabon

Quantitative and qualitative loss of tropical forests prompted international policy agendas to slow down forest loss through reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD)+, ensuring carbon offset payments to developing countries. So far, many African countries lack reliable forest carbon data and monitoring systems as required by REDD+. In this study, we estimate the carbon stocks of a naturally forested landscape unaffected by direct human impact. We used data collected from 34 plots randomly distributed across the Mount Birougou National Park (690 km²) in southern Gabon. We used tree‐level data on species, diameter, height, species‐specific wood density and carbon fraction as well as site‐level data on dead wood, soil and litter carbon to calculate carbon content in aboveground, belowground, dead wood, soil and litter as 146, 28, 14, 186 and 7 Mg ha^?1, respectively. Results may serve as a benchmark to assess ecosystem carbon loss/gain for the Massif du Chaillu in Gabon and the Republic of Congo, provide field data for remote sensing and also may contribute to establish national monitoring systems.     

The ENPI Horizon 2020 Capacity Building/Mediterranean Environment Programme to de-pollute the Mediterranean by the year 2020 (ENPI H2020 CB/MEP)

The paper explains the content, structure, activities and contribution of the capacity building component of the Horizon 2020 Initiative, a major undertaking supported by the EU Neighbourhood policy instrument. The Mediterranean environment is one of the richest and at the same time most vulnerable in the world. A staggering 80% of its pollution comes from land based sources: municipal waste, urban waste and water, and industrial emissions. In 2006, the European Mediterranean Environment Ministers meeting in Cairo committed themselves to a targeted de-pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by 2020, known as the “Horizon 2020 Initiative”. Within this framework, the Horizon 2020 Capacity Building/Mediterranean Environment Programme (H2020 CB/MEP) is one of its three operational components (the other two include the investments for pollution reduction infrastructures and pollution monitoring). It aims at supporting the implementation of the Horizon 2020 Initiative Road Map and Work Plan through a large number (~140) of capacity building and awareness raising activities, while strengthening institutions on environmental mainstreaming and H2020 priority areas. Environmental mainstreaming acts as an umbrella under which the three H2020 priorities are developed horizontally, cross cutting all capacity building activities so as to facilitate and create the enabling environment for the proper implementation, not only of the capacity building component of H2020 but also of the entire Initiative. It is expected that the H2020 CB/MEP will provide by the end of 2012 capacity building for an average of 200–300 persons per country, which means about 3500 individuals in the entire region.     

Impacts of biogenic CO2 emissions on human health and terrestrial ecosystems: the case of increased wood extraction for bioenergy production on a global scale

Biofuels are a potentially important source of energy for our society. Common practice in life cycle assessment (LCA) of bioenergy has been to assume that any carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission related to biomass combustion equals the amount absorbed in biomass, thus assuming no climate change impacts. Recent developments show the significance of contributions of biogenic CO₂ emissions during the time they stay in the atmosphere. The goal of this article is to develop a global, spatially explicit method to quantify the potential impact on human health and terrestrial ecosystems of biogenic carbon emissions coming from forest wood extraction for biofuel production. For this purpose, changes in aboveground carbon stock (ΔC_forest) due to an increase in wood extraction via changes in rotation time are simulated worldwide with a 0.5° × 0.5° grid resolution. Our results show that both impacts and benefits can be obtained. When the extraction increase is reached by creating a longer rotation time, new growth is allowed resulting in carbon benefits. In a case study, we assessed the life cycle impacts of heat production via wood to determine the significance of including biogenic CO₂ emissions due to changes in forest management. Impacts of biogenic CO₂ dominate the total climate change impacts from a wood stove. Depending on the wood source country, climate change impacts due to heat production from wood either have an important share in the overall impacts on human health and terrestrial ecosystems, or allow for a large additional CO₂ sink.     

Long-Term Impacts of Fuelwood Extraction on a Tropical Montane Cloud Forest

Fuelwood extracted from natural forests serves as a principal energy source in rural regions of many tropical countries. Although fuelwood extraction (even low intensities) might strongly impact the structure and species composition of natural forests, long-term studies remain scarce. Here, we estimate the potential long-term impacts (over several hundred years) of such repeated harvesting of single trees on tropical montane cloud forest in central Veracruz, Mexico, by applying a process-based forest growth model. We simulate a wide range of possible harvesting scenarios differing in wood volume harvested and preferred tree species and sizes, and use a set of indicators to compare their impacts on forest size structure and community composition. Results showed that the overall impact on forest structure and community composition increased linearly with the amount of harvested wood volume. Even at low levels of harvesting, forest size structure became more homogeneous in the long term because large old trees disappeared from the forest, but these changes might take decades or even centuries. Although recruitment of harvested species benefited from harvesting, species composition shifted to tree species that are not used for fuelwood. Our results demonstrate that fuelwood extraction can have marked long-term impacts on tropical montane cloud forests. The results also offer the possibility to support the design of management strategies for the natural species-rich forests that achieve a balance between economic needs and ecological goals of the stakeholders. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Assessment of ecosystem services at the national level in Germany—Illustration of the concept and the development of indicators by way of the example wood provision

The EU Biodiversity Strategy stipulates in Target 2, Action 5 that the member states must map and assess the state of the ecosystems and their services and promote the integration into the reporting systems at the EU and national level by 2020. Therefore indicators for capturing and assessing ecosystem services (ES) are needed. In this paper we report for which ES class types currently ES indicators are being developed for Germany in the context of an ongoing research project. Additionally, we provide the indicator specifications, which are based on underlying framework concept. By way of the example of the provisioning service ‘raw wood production’ and the development of the main-indicator ‘annual wood accrual’ and six sub-indicators, we illustrate the concrete procedure, including discussion of results and target values. The indicators for the ES wood provision are not only suitable for an exemplary illustration of procedure, data selection and data basis in Germany. Furthermore, it shows that indicators for provisioning ES can eminently conflict with biodiversity and other ES.     

The African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement

Sylla, I.S., Boere, G.B. & Lenten, B. 2000. The African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement. Ostrich 71 (1 & 2): 341.

After nearly ten years of drafting and negotiation, the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) is now open for signature at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands from 15 August onwards. This agreement aims to create a legal basis for concerted conservation and management policy by the Range States for migratory waterbird species. The AEWA is the first regional Agreement of vast areas of 80 million square kilometres covering the entire continents of Africa and Europe, as well as parts of Asia and a few Arctic islands of north-eastem Canada. It covers about 170 species of waterfowl. The Agreement has two parts that are both legally binding: Firstly the Agreement text, describing the philosophy, legal framework and provisions. The described General Conservation Measures in this part are based on two hdamental principles: (a) Parties shall take coordinated measures to maintain migratory waterbirds species in a favourable conservation status or to restore them to such a status; (b) In implementing the measures of paragraph 1, Parties should take into account the precautionary principle. The second part, an Action Plan, describing the conservation actions that Parties shall undertake in relation to priority species and issues, under the following headings, consistent with the general conservation measures: a) species Conservation; b) habitat conservation; c) management of human activities; d) research and monitoring; e) education and information; and f) implementation. These actions are based on the above mentioned Fundamental Principles. The Action Plan now is restricted to geese, swans ducks, ibises and storks.     

Cumulative Human Impacts on Mediterranean and Black Sea Marine Ecosystems: Assessing Current Pressures and Opportunities

Management of marine ecosystems requires spatial information on current impacts. In several marine regions, including the Mediterranean and Black Sea, legal mandates and agreements to implement ecosystem-based management and spatial plans provide new opportunities to balance uses and protection of marine ecosystems. Analyses of the intensity and distribution of cumulative impacts of human activities directly connected to the ecological goals of these policy efforts are critically needed. Quantification and mapping of the cumulative impact of 22 drivers to 17 marine ecosystems reveals that 20% of the entire basin and 60–99% of the territorial waters of EU member states are heavily impacted, with high human impact occurring in all ecoregions and territorial waters. Less than 1% of these regions are relatively unaffected. This high impact results from multiple drivers, rather than one individual use or stressor, with climatic drivers (increasing temperature and UV, and acidification), demersal fishing, ship traffic, and, in coastal areas, pollution from land accounting for a majority of cumulative impacts. These results show that coordinated management of key areas and activities could significantly improve the condition of these marine ecosystems.     

Environmental impacts of forest production and supply of pulpwood: Spanish and Swedish case studies

Background, aim and scope  Forest operations use large amounts of energy, which must be considered when life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is applied to forest products. Forest management practices differ considerably between countries and may also differ within a country. This paper aims to identify and compare the environmental burdens from forest operations in Sweden and Spain focused on pulpwood production and supply to pulp mills. Materials and methods  To perform the analysis, the main forest plantations were investigated as well as the most important tree species used in pulp mills in both countries: eucalyptus and, Norway spruce and Scots pine, were taken into account for the Spanish and Swedish case studies, respectively. Energy requirements for pulpwood production and supply to Spanish and Swedish pulp mills are evaluated in this paper. All forest operations from site preparation to extraction of felled wood to the delivery point at the roadside are included within the system boundaries as well as wood transport from forest landing to the pulp mill gate. Seedling and machinery production are excluded from the system boundaries due to lack of field data. The impact assessment phase was carried out according to the Swedish Environmental Management Council and, in particular, the impact categories assessed in forest and agricultural LCAs (global warming, acidification, eutrophication and photochemical oxidant formation) were analysed. SimaPro 7.10 software was used to perform the impact assessment stage. Results  Different types of wood are produced in both case studies: softwood in Sweden and hardwood in Spain, with higher production of round wood and biomass per hectare in Sweden. Total energy use for pulpwood production and supply are in a similar order of magnitude, up to 395 MJ and 370 MJ/m³ solid under bark in Spain and Sweden, respectively. Field operations, such as silviculture and logging, are more energy-intensive in the Spanish case study. However, secondary hauling of pulpwood to pulp mill requires more energy in the Swedish case study. These important differences are related to different forest management practices as well as to pulpwood supply to the pulp mill. The eventual imports of pulpwood, application of pesticides, thinning step or final felling considerably affects energy requirements, which are reflected on the environmental results. Discussion  Although differences between both case studies were observed, several stages were investigated: wood delivery to the pulp mill by road, harvesting and forwarding, contribute considerably to acidification, eutrophication and global warming potential in both cases. The type of wood, the machines used in forest operations (mechanised or motor-manual), the use of fossil fuels and the amount of wood produced influence the results. These differences must be kept in mind in comparative studies between such different countries. Conclusions  The results obtained in this work allow one to forecast the importance of forest operations in LCA of forest products (in this case, wood pulp) and the influence of energy use in the results. Special attention has been paid in the inventory analysis stage for both case studies. It is possible to gain a better environmental performance in both case studies if alternative practices are considered, mainly focused on site preparation and stand tending in the Spanish system and on pulpwood supply in the Swedish one. Recommendations and perspectives  This study provides useful information that can assist forest-based industries in the aim of increasing their sustainability. Future work will focus on the study of several transport alternatives of pulpwood supply including railway, road and ship. In addition, pulpwood processing in Spanish and Swedish paper pulp mills considered to be representative of the “state of art” will be carried out in order to get a complete picture of this kind of forest-based industry. In addition, the use of biofuels (such as forest biomass) instead of fossil fuels and CO₂ uptake of wood via photosynthesis will be carried out in order to have a complete perspective of forest ecosystems.     

Phytosanitary measures to reduce the movement of forest pests with the international trade of wood products

International trade in wood products brings the risk of the movement of tree pests, which can cause devastating ecosystem and economic damage. International phytosanitary guidelines have been created to help countries that import wood products develop import requirements to minimize pest movement. Requirements may include specific phytosanitary measures, including treatments such as heat, fumigation, chemical, or systems approaches that combine phytosanitary measures. This paper provides an overview of phytosanitary measures for the international trade of wood commodities and the regulatory framework in which they are applied.