Forest-Based Bioenergy and Bioeconomy

Dear Colleagues,

Forests have become increasingly important in renewable energy production and economic development, particularly in rural communities. Energy production from woody biomass has increased greatly to meet the global demand for renewable energy in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Logging residues, slash, and low-value wood without a market are a challenges for landowners, incurring disposal costs or increasing the risk of forest fires and health issues. In many cases, markets for pulpwood and other low-value woods would enhance active forest management, improving forest health and creating additional economic returns for landowners. This would also generate economic activities in rural areas, bringing investment and technology. In addition to domestic and small-scale uses, the production of industrial wood pellets in the southern United States for overseas exports has grown considerably in recent decades. Bioenergy systems are also crucial for meeting the climate change mitigation goals of the Paris Agreement. Therefore, economic studies of biomass-based bioenergy are important for developing a circular bioeconomy and moving towards sustainable energy. The dynamic nature of forest management, particularly in the sustainable supply of biomass for bioenergy, needs to be better understood. This Special Issue aims to present scientific findings on wood-based bioenergy systems and their contribution to the local, regional, and national bioeconomy. We encourage studies from the fields of social economics, management, techno-economics, and policy analysis, including case studies, novel approaches, and regional to global models, in order to promote knowledge and strategies in the sustainable use of forest biomass for renewable energy and bioeconomy.

Dr. Raju Pokharel
Dr. Rajan Parajuli
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.