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Annisa Primaningtyas and Shabbir H. Gheewala*
Abstract: Non-wood forest products are any commodities obtained from the forest without cutting down trees. The role of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) production in minimizing threats to forest sustainability has been investigated. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can be used to measure the environmental performance and sustainability of the products. The objective of this study is to provide a narrative literature review of previous research on the LCA of NTFPs, such as chemicals, silk, honey, rubber, bamboo, and cork, and to compare them to their substitute products. The system boundary used in each product is varied, dominated by cradle to grave and cradle to gate. In addition, global warming is the most common environmental impact evaluated by all studies. Furthermore, acidification and eutrophication are commonly investigated in the production of chemical, silk, and cork products. Besides, eco-toxicity and human toxicity are considered in fiber and silk products.The results showed that in chemical products, such as volatile oil, bioactive compounds, tannins, and phenolics obtained from resin or bark on trees, the extraction phase tends to have the largest environmental impact caused by the solvent used. The manufacturing process is the main contributor to the environmental impact of silk, honey, rubber, and cork products, mainly in the raw material production and harvesting process. Furthermore, these products require electricity to operate process equipment that produces the most significant environmental impact. Energy consumption in bamboo processing and product transportation tends to have large environmental impacts for bamboo products. Moreover, the LCA results also considered other environmental impacts to determine the hotspots and overall environmental profile of the production systems. The comparisons to their substitute products are presented and briefly discussed.
Keywords: Life cycle assessment (LCA), environmental impact, non-timber forest products (NTFPs).
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Alongkorn Kanyatrakul, Arnon Settsoongnern, Amnat Chidthaisong, Pariwate Varnakovida, Tiwa Pakoktom and Monthira Yuttitham
Abstract: Climate change induced by emissions of greenhouse gases from sources associated with human activities has caused devastating impacts and is regarded as one of the most challenging threats to humankind. Quantifying the amounts of greenhouse gas emissions is an important first step towards mitigation. This study aimed to estimate the emissions of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from one of the most important emission sources in Thailand, which is rice cultivation, by using the eddy covariance technique. It was found that the average CH4 emission throughout the year was 0.06 mg CH4/m2. The annual emission of approximately 1.37 kg CH4/ha/d was estimated. This was comparable to that provided by the IPCC for the baseline emission (i.e., 1.3 kg CH4/ha/d). On the other hand, results reveal that the rice field acted as a net carbon sink, with an annual CO2 uptake of -72.60 mg CO2/m2/y, equivalent to 8.41 tons C/ha/y. During the growing season, an amount of CO2 uptake of -52.30 mg CO2/m2, equivalent to 5.89 tons C/ha/y was estimated. The calculated emissions during the fallow season were approximately 2.57 tons C/ha/y. We observed no significant relationship between CH4 emissions and CO2 fluxes.
Keywords: Eddy covariance, Methane flux (CH4), Carbon dioxide flux (CO2), Rain-fed rice field.