Special Issue "Sustainable Biofuels From Forests: Woody Biomass"
A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2011) | Viewed by 33818
Special Issue Editor
Interests: short-rotation woody crops; forest biomass feedstocks; Bioenergy; biofuels; bioproducts; tree nutrition; forests soils
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Wood biomass from plantations, short-rotation woody crops and natural forests represents a significant renewable feedstock for biofuels, bioenergy and bioproducts to replace diminishing fossil-based products. Questions remain in some arenas concerning the sustainability of utilizing woody feedstocks for such efforts. Wood-based biofuels, bioenergy and bioproducts have a significant potential to develop economic markets for low value and small diameter trees that should be removed in timber stand improvement harvests which will help minimize high-grading, reduce fuel hazards and increase local economic development. Short-rotation woody crops represent an alternative crop for underutilized and abandonded farm land. The challenge and opportunity is to harvest more woody biomass in a sustainable system while protecting and/or increasing other forest ecosystem services, eg biodiversity, productivity, wildlife habitat, recreational needs and water quality. Impacts to be addressed include harvest volumes, site productivity including nutrients, carbon and soil erosion and infrastructure and biofuels, bioenergy and bioproducts conversion systems. Essentially it comes down to what constitues "sustainable forest management" an issue addressed by several third-party certification efforts.
Edwin H. White
Guest Editor
Keywords
- wood biomass
- short-rotation woody crops
- sustainability
- biofuels
- bioenergy
- bioproducts
- biorefinery
- economic development