Abstract
The importance of wood and wood byproducts as biomass feedstocks is of increasing interest as a source of ethanol and electricity. Second generation woody feedstock sources in Michigan, e.g., hybrid poplar and hybrid willow (Populus spp.), and native forests, particularly aspen and northern hardwoods, are a potential source of woody biomass for these uses. This study provides a geographic information system (GIS) framework for assessing the current spatial extent of aspen and northern hardwoods) and their proximity to roads. Additionally, the potential for expanding the area of these feedstock sources based on pre-European settlement vegetation cover is assessed. Utilizing GIS technology to compile, edit and analyze available geospatial data (e.g., present day and pre-European settlement land use/cover, soils, road infrastructure, and land ownership) for counties located in the eastern half of the Upper Peninsula and northern half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan provides a robust framework for various management scenarios to be evaluated in a cost effective manner and foster better decision making.
Highlights
Producing sufficient energy and transitioning to non-fossil fuel energy sources is of growing concern, given issues of energy security and global climate change
There are large contiguous stands of northern hardwoods ~124,610 ha in the northern portion of the Upper Peninsula (UP) study area, making up ~30% of the total northern hardwood stands in this part of the study area
Large northern hardwood stands in the western part of the Lower Peninsula (LP) study area occupy ~131,100 ha
Summary
Producing sufficient energy and transitioning to non-fossil fuel energy sources is of growing concern, given issues of energy security and global climate change. Current global energy consumption is dominated by fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal). Nonrenewable energy resources are believed to be limited [1], and some predict world oil production will peak around 2030 if the current global energy portfolio holds into the future [2,3,4]. Energy security is increasingly an overarching concern since major oil production occurs in many countries experiencing political instability. To improve energy security, the world needs to spend time and financial resources to diversify the global energy portfolio. Global energy transition will be challenging since industrial and economic processes depend highly on fossil fuels and their byproducts
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