LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT ON LOG HARVESTING FROM NATURAL FOREST IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

Abstract

The demand for wooden products are high due to its environmental benefits. Logs are harvested in a sustainable manner to meet the demand from local and international markets. However, resources consumption during logging activities impacts the environment. A life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out to quantify the environmental impacts associated with log harvesting activities from natural forests in Peninsular Malaysia. Fuel consumption for each logging activity was obtained from several logging contractors for three different forest types, namely, hill forest, lowland forest and peat swamp forest. The harvesting systems and types of machines used in the different forest types were almost the same, except for the combination of equipment used, particularly in logging activity. Log harvesting in peat swamp forest generated the highest impact on global warming (49.69 kg CO2-eq m-3), acidification (0.72 kg SO2-eq m-3), eutrophication (0.93 kg PO4-eq m-3) and photochemical ozone creation potentials (0.27 kg C2H2-eq m-3) due to the high consumption of fuel to operate on-field machines for skidding. The terrain in every forest type was varied, and this influenced the amount of fuel used in harvesting. Keywords: Forest operations, potential environmental impacts, fuel consumption, peat swamp forest, hill forest, lowland forest