Maritime pine land use environmental impact evolution in the context of life cycle assessment

Abstract

Between 2005 and 2015, the forest area occupied by maritime pine trees in Continental Portugal decreased by about 10.6%, and the existing volume decreased by about 18.4% mainly due to fires and pests (e.g., nematode) that occurred during this period. The purpose of this study was to study the evolution of the land use environmental impact of 1 m3 of maritime pine, standing in Portuguese forest, during that period using the model by Milà i Canals based on soil organic matter measured by soil organic carbon. Results show that the land use impact category increased from 16,812 kg C deficit in 2005 to 18,423 kg C deficit in 2015. Land transformation to forest roads is the main contribution for land use impact representing 54% of the total value followed by land occupation as forest that represents about 40%.

Keywords

• forest
• land occupation
• land transformation
• soil organic carbon
• soil organic matter