IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/envman/v33y2004i1d10.1007_s00267-003-9118-1.html

A Method Countries Can Use to Estimate Changes in Carbon Stored in Harvested Wood Products and the Uncertainty of Such Estimates

Author

Listed:
  • Kenneth E. Skog

    (USDA Forest Service, One Gifford Pinchot Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53726-2398, Forest Products Laboratory)

  • Kim Pingoud

    (Finish Forest Research Institute)

  • James E. Smith

    (USDA Forest Service, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, Northeastern Forest Research Station)

Abstract

A method is suggested for estimating additions to carbon stored in harvested wood products (HWP) and for evaluating uncertainty. The method uses data on HWP production and trade from several decades and tracks annual additions to pools of HWP in use, removals from use, additions to solid waste disposal sites (SWDS), and decay from SWDS. The method is consistent with IPCC guidance for estimating emissions from SWDS. Uncertainty is postulated in the form of probability density functions for 14 variables, using Monte Carlo simulation. Results for the United States suggest that uncertainty is most sensitive to uncertainty in production data for solidwood products, the factor used to convert products to carbon, and the proportion of solidwood and paper in SWDS. Uncertainty in the use (service) life of solidwood products has a limited effect because an error offsets changes in products in use and in SWDS. The method provides a starting point for meeting the aims of the IPCC Good Practice Guidance.

Suggested Citation

  • Kenneth E. Skog & Kim Pingoud & James E. Smith, 2004. "A Method Countries Can Use to Estimate Changes in Carbon Stored in Harvested Wood Products and the Uncertainty of Such Estimates," Environmental Management, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 65-73, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:envman:v:33:y:2004:i:1:d:10.1007_s00267-003-9118-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s00267-003-9118-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00267-003-9118-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00267-003-9118-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:envman:v:33:y:2004:i:1:d:10.1007_s00267-003-9118-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.