Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Accounting of Forest Operations in FPInterface
Authors
Mathieu Blouin
Denis Cormier
Abstract
Developed by FPInnovations, FPInterface is an operational-level simulation platform for forest supply activities from the harvest site to the mill gate. The software can model, simulate and optimize forest operations directly from the GIS planning maps. The analysis is done at the block level for a forest management unit and provides the cost and volumes of all products harvested from the selected blocks. The basic platform allows for cost calculations of harvesting, road construction, transport and regeneration. Additional modules are also available for optimizing transport routes, biomass supply flow and cost estimates, operational scheduling and value chain decisions. The software offers a tactical and operational forest planning tool in the context of Canadian forest operations. FPInterface considers all fossil fuel inputs and biomass outputs based on product specifications, harvesting decisions, equipment selection, road network and stand conditions. Therefore, the software offers an opportunity for the development of functionalities for greenhouse gas emissions accounts and carbon budgets for woody feedstock. The main objective of this paper is to describe the calculation of carbon ratio in a module of the FPInterface software. Furthermore, a scenario analysis was conducted, where the usability of the module was demonstrated. The objectives of the analysis were to show the impact of tree size on carbon emissions and to compare different supply chains for biomass in terms of carbon ratios. Keywords: carbon emissions, forest planning, logging operations, biomass, FPInterface. Received 28 September 2010, Revised 21 January 2013, Accepted 27 January 2013.
