Energy, carbon and economic balance of Norway spruce moncultures and near-natural forests

The assessment of energy, carbon and economic balances, completed by environmental load computation using the Life Cycle Assessment method, could be a useful tool for sustainable forest management examination. Th ese methods were used to compare forest stands with diff erent management in the Novohradské Mountains (Czech Republic). For this purpose, one of the main forest management set of stands in the research area was chosen. Th e diff erences between energy and carbon effi ciency were small while the diff erences between economic effi ciency were considerable for all the alternatives. From all the alternatives, higher energy, carbon and economic effi ciency for Norway spruce monoculture were achieved; however, abiotic and biotic disturbances have not been included in the calculation yet. Th e main part of energy inputs and carbon emission consists of silviculture and timber transport