Forest-based Bioenergy Research Articles

Modelling emission and land-use impacts of altered bioenergy use in the future energy system

Forest biomass is one of the few non-fossil and non-weather-dependent energy sources available in the Nordic countries. The future role of forest-based bioenergy is, however, unclear as biomass is a limited resource and has many alternative applications. This study analyses how fossil emissions and land-use is affected by forest bioenergy in the North-European heat and power sector, using an energy system model with endogenous capacity investments. The novelty of this paper lies in the detailed description of the substitution factors for different bioenergy levels toward a fully decarbonised energy system. The main results show that forest biomass remains important for heat production in the Nordic countries towards 2050 in a cost-optimal scenario. According to our model results, less use of forest biomass for heating will increase the use of fossil fuel, wind power, and power-to-heat in 2030, while in 2050 also solar PV will be used as a substitute for forest biomass. Implying that less use of forest biomass will increase the land use from wind and solar PV installation and increase and prolong the fossil carbon emission in the Nordic countries.

The contribution of forest-based bioenergy in achieving deep decarbonization: Insights for Quebec (Canada) using a TIMES approach

This study assesses the contribution of various forest-based bioenergy technologies when transitioning to a low carbon economy. A detailed modeling of different forest-based bioenergy pathways is provided following a techno-economic (bottom-up) approach. As an illustration, these pathways are implemented in NATEM-Québec, a detailed bottom-up energy model for Québec, Canada. It is the first time different primary and secondary forest-based bioenergy technologies are being modeled in such a detailed bottom-up energy system model like TIMES. A detailed analysis of forest-based bioenergy potential in Quebec is also provided under different greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction scenarios. Main insights are as follows. The transportation sector is the primary contributor to GHG emissions over the time horizon in all scenarios, except for the most stringent GHG reduction scenario (GHGB) in 2050. The industrial sector is the main emitter by 2050 in GHGB, indicating the difficulties to decarbonize heavy industry. Furthermore, an extensive electrification is required to reach the GHG reduction targets. The bioenergy share is expected to increase considerably in the transportation and industrial sectors, cutting down on the need to reduce GHG emissions. Forest-based bioenergies such as cellulosic bioethanol, biobased heat, FT diesel and electricity as a co-product can effectively support this energy transition. The present study discerns forest-based bioenergies as an attainable decarbonization pathway for the province of Quebec and envisages a greater penetration of bioenergy than in the 2030 Plan for a Green Economy proposed by the government of Québec. Other world regions with a declining trend for traditional forest products should also consider such a strategy.

Greenhouse Gas Emission Offsets of Forest Residues for Bioenergy in Queensland, Australia

Harnessing sustainably sourced forest biomass for renewable energy is well-established in some parts of the developed world. Forest-based bioenergy has the potential to offset carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, thereby playing a role in climate change mitigation. Despite having an established commercial forestry industry, with large quantities of residue generated each year, there is limited use for forest biomass for renewable energy in Queensland, and Australia more broadly. The objective of this study was to identify the carbon dioxide mitigation potential of replacing fossil fuels with bioenergy generated from forest harvest residues harnessed from commercial plantations of Pinus species in southeast Queensland. An empirical-based full carbon accounting model (FullCAM) was used to simulate the accumulation of carbon in harvest residues. The results from the FullCAM modelling were further analysed to identify the energy substitution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions offsets of three bioenergy scenarios. The results of the analysis suggest that the greatest opportunity to avoid or offset emissions is achieved when combined heat and power using residue feedstocks replaces coal-fired electricity. The results of this study suggest that forest residue bioenergy is a viable alternative to traditional energy sources, offering substantive emission reductions, with the potential to contribute towards renewable energy and emission reduction targets in Queensland. The approach used in this case study will be valuable to other regions exploring bioenergy generation from forest or other biomass residues.

Managing sustainability risks of bioenergy in four Nordic countries

BackgroundBioenergy plays a key role in the transition to a sustainable economy in Europe, but its own sustainability is being questioned. We study the experiences of Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway, to find out whether the forest-based bioenergy chains developed in the four countries have led to unsustainable outcomes and how the countries manage the sustainability risks. Data were collected from a diversity of sources including interviews, statistical databases, the scientific literature, government planning documents and legislation.ResultsSustainability risks of deforestation, degradation of forests, reduced carbon pools in forests, expensive biopower and heat, resource competition, and lack of acceptance at the local level are considered. The experience of the four countries shows that the sustainability risks can to a high degree be managed with voluntary measures without resorting to prescriptive measures. It is possible to add to the carbon pools of forests along with higher harvest volumes if the risks are well managed. There is, however, a marginal trade-off between harvest volume and carbon pools. Economic sustainability risks may be more challenging than ecological risks because the competitiveness order of renewable energy technologies has been reversed in the last decade. The risk of resource competition harming other sectors in the economy was found to be small and manageable but requires continuous monitoring. Local communities acting as bioenergy communities have been agents of change behind the most expansive bioenergy chains. A fear of non-local actors reaping the economic gains involved in bioenergy chains was found to be one of the risks to the trust and acceptance necessary for local communities to act as bioenergy communities.ConclusionsThe Nordic experience shows that it has been possible to manage the sustainability risks examined in this paper to an extent avoiding unsustainable outcomes. Sustainability risks have been managed by developing an institutional framework involving laws, regulations, standards and community commitments. Particularly on the local level, bioenergy chains should be developed with stakeholder involvement in development and use, in order to safeguard the legitimacy of bioenergy development and reconcile tensions between the global quest for a climate neutral economy and the local quest for an economically viable community.

The Bioenergy ‘Blind Spots’ in EU Climate and Energy Law

This article analyses how the climate performance of forest-based bioenergy is treated under the revised European Union (EU) climate and energy law in the form of the recast Renewable Energy Directive and the new land-use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) Regulation on land use and forestry. Forest-based bioenergy exemplifies the troubled relationship between bioenergy, forest management and emissions and removals from the land use and forestry sector. The article focuses on the climate-related legal challenges that arise from the regulatory approach taken to the use of forest-based bioenergy as a widely available renewable raw material for energy production. The article argues that this regulatory approach does not fully consider the underlying climate-related concerns and hence the current approach risk weakening the overall ambition of the EU’s legislative approach to the challenge of climate change. This article exposes the ‘blind spots’ in the link between the Renewable Energy Directive and the LULUCF Regulation both to support this argument and to point out the grave challenges related to the current legal approach on bioenergy. forest-based bioenergy, carbon neutrality, climate change, climate law, energy law, the Renewable Energy Directive, the LULUCF Regulation

Sustainability of Forest-Based Bioenergy—A Case Study of Students Surveyed at a University in Finland

With the increasing use of forest biomass, concerns about negative impacts have been raised in the debate. The aim of this study was to find out the attitude of university students towards the energy use of forest-based biomass and how different areas of sustainable forest operations were addressed. The survey was conducted over two years (2018–2019) with both full-time students at university and distance learning students who study alongside their work. Background information such as gender, nationality and field of study was collected from students. Most of the students currently considered the energy use of forest biomass to be sustainable. Many replies stressed that the situation could change if the use of forests is increased from the present circumstances. The main factors mentioned that led to forest-based bioenergy being sustainable were positive felling balance, compliance with forest certification, use of waste fractions and implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) directive, while the loss of biodiversity, over-exploitation of forests, C debt and the cascading principle were factors that led to forest-based bioenergy being unsustainable. Student background variables had no effect on responses except for the field of study.

Putting Forests to Work? Enrolling Vegetal Labor in the Socioecological Fix of Bioenergy Resource Making

Large-scale European electricity providers are increasingly replacing coal with renewable biomass wood pellets produced from working forests of the U.S. South. Adopting a posthumanist interpretation of the labor theory of value, this article argues that wood pellet manufacturing constitutes an attempt by energy capital to substitute the “dead labor” of prehistoric plants, embodied in fossil fuels, with the living, “vegetal labor” of forests of the present day. More specifically, the article contends that by capitalizing on the hybrid labor regimes through which the real subsumption of nature in working forests is achieved, energy interests seek to position wood pellets not merely as a viable alternative resource for electricity generation but as a socioecological fix for capitalist crisis linked to climate change in the European energy sector. The legitimacy of this apparent fix depends, however, on normalizing a view of forests not as gradually accumulating carbon sinks but as high-throughput carbon conveyors. Wood pellet manufacturing thus has important implications for conceptual understandings of the role played by labor—both human and vegetal—in efforts to institute socioecological fixes and also for practical efforts to challenge the inherently productivist logics of expanding forest-based bioenergy systems, whether rooted in the U.S. South or elsewhere.

Hydrologic impacts and trade-offs associated with forest-based bioenergy development practices in a snow-dominated watershed, Wisconsin, USA

Growing demand for biomass-derived fuels has resulted in an increase in bioenergy projects in recent years, a trend that is expected to continue. However, broad expansion of bioenergy feedstock production may have significant environmental consequences. Accordingly, the goal of this study is to investigate how forest-based bioenergy development may affect hydrological systems at the watershed scale. Specifically, this study addresses hybrid poplar cultivation for biofuel production in a snow-dominated watershed in northern Wisconsin, USA. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), calibrated and validated for streamflow and biomass production cycles, is used to evaluate the effects of land use change corresponding to a range of biofuel development scenarios. The biofuel scenarios follow physically-based rules for land use conversion to poplar plantations from hay, pasture, and forested lands; along with a suite of alternative management practices, including rotation time, planting density, fertilizer application and irrigation. Trade-offs between biomass production, fertilizer use, and hydrologic alteration are evaluated for the feedstock production system. The highest density (1111 trees/100 m2) and shortest rotation (5-year) treatments produce the highest biomass and are the most efficient treatments in terms of water and fertilizer use per ton of biomass. The high efficiency is due to optimal relationships between leaf area index, biomass production, and N uptake. At annual or greater time scales, the simulated conversion to poplar had minimal effect on ET and streamflows. However, in summer months, the ET from the poplar substantially exceeds that of the original land use, so that streamflows decrease by as much as 50%. Irrigation to meet soil water deficits increased biomass production, but only by 4% on average, which is not surprising for a temperate, humid watershed.

Understanding the timing and variation of greenhouse gas emissions of forest bioenergy systems

Forest-based bioenergy plays an important role in climate mitigation for limiting global mean temperature increase to below 2 °C. The greenhouse gas (GHG) impact of three forest-based bioenergy systems from the USA, Canada and Spain supplying wood pellets for electricity in the UK were evaluated by conducting lifecycle assessments and forest carbon modelling of the three forest systems. Cumulative emissions were analysed by calculating the forest carbon stock change and net GHG emissions balance of the forest-based bioenergy electricity. The analysis considered both the replacement of the existing electricity mix with bioenergy electricity and forest management with and without bioenergy use. The supply chain emissions and forest carbon balances indicated that GHG emission reductions are possible. However, the cumulative net GHG balance at forest landscape scale revealed that the reduction potential is limited, potentially with no GHG reductions in fast growing forests with shorter rotations, while slow growing forest systems with longer rotations result in greater GHG reductions. This means that the maximum climate benefit is delivered at a different point in time for different forest systems. To evaluate the climate change mitigation potential of forest-based bioenergy it is therefore necessary to consider the management, utilisation and relevant counterfactual of the whole forest and its products. In terms of climate change mitigation potential and minimising possible negative impacts that would require multi-level governance.

Evaluation of Three Forest-Based Bioenergy Development Strategies in the Inland Northwest, United States

Evaluation of Three Forest-Based Bioenergy Development Strategies in the Inland Northwest, United States

The burden of sustainability: Limits to sustainable bioenergy development in Norway

This paper analyses the case of bioenergy development in Norway – drawing on Hedmark county located on the borders with Sweden – from a social, economic and environmental perspective (triple bottom line). Since 2008, the number of forest-based bioenergy plants increased rapidly, following the introduction of the wood-chips scheme and the high local expectations of its benefits for rural development. Obstacles to its continuous sustainable development have subsequently been increasing. Therefore, the goal of the study is to investigate the causal processes of bioenergy development to understand what threatens its triple bottom line sustainability. The study does so by employing qualitative system dynamics (i.e. causal loop diagram) and using interviews with local actors to elaborate on studies that look at the influence of power, institutions and expectations on the transition processes. Results show that the local actors’ positive perceptions of the benefits of bioenergy mainly drove its initial development, but that conflicting local interests, power relations, and market dynamics now threaten these initially positive perceptions.

Impacts of forest-based bioenergy feedstock production on soil nitrogen cycling

We investigated impacts of simultaneous production of biomass for biofuel and quality timber on soil nitrogen (N) cycling in a poorly drained forest soil of eastern North Carolina, U.S.A. Treatments included traditional loblolly pine (PINE) and pine-switchgrass intercropping (PSWITCH). Treatments were replicated three times on 0.8 ha plots drained by parallel open ditches which were 1.2 m deep and spaced 100 m apart. Net N mineralization (Nm) and nitrification (Nn) rates were measured in the field using sequential in-situ technique over two years with multiple measurements in each year and laboratory by incubating soil samples for one-, two-, eight-, and thirteen weeks. Soil incubation in-situ or sample collection for laboratory incubation was conducted at nine sampling points within a 30 × 40 m subplot at each plot center and 20 cm from the soil surface. Soil samples were composited by location including near tree (NT), between two trees on the same bed (BT), and in the middle of four trees on two adjacent beds (M4T). Composite samples from NT and BT were categorized as tree-bed (BED), while those from M4T were grouped as interbed (INT). Field results showed that total soil N availability and its temporal variations over two years were not significantly affected by PSWITCH. However, it significantly reduced Nn rates, particularly in the INT. The plot-level mean Nm rates in PINE were 0.21 and 0.26 mg N·kg soil−1 d−1, while in PSWITCH they were 0.10 and 0.21 mg N kg soil−1 d−1 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The plot-level mean Nn rates in PINE were 0.09 and 0.10 mg N kg soil−1 d−1 in 2011 and 2012, respectively, while in PSWITCH they remained at 0.03 mg N kg soil−1 d−1 across these two years. At the INT, mean Nn rates in PINE were 0.11 and 0.12 mg N kg soil−1 d−1 in 2011 and 2012, respectively, while in PSWITCH, Nn rate remained at 0.02 mg N kg soil−1 d−1 over two years. Laboratory results indicated that change in litter quality inputs (changing from mixed species to switchgrass) in the INT did not significantly affect Nm rates. Results of this study contributed to a better understanding of the changes in soil N cycling due to loblolly pine-switchgrass interactions, which is important in sustainable nutrient management of this new land use. Further, the results suggested that growing switchgrass as intercrop to managed loblolly pine has positive water quality implication since ammonium N is less mobile in soil than nitrate N.

Effects of forest-based bioenergy feedstock production on shallow groundwater quality of a drained forest soil

Managed forests in southern U.S. are a potential source of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production. Changes in management practices to optimize biomass production may impact the quality of waters draining to nutrient-sensitive waters in coastal plain regions. We investigated shallow groundwater quality effects of intercropping switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) with managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) to produce bioenergy feedstock and quality sawtimber in a poorly drained soil of eastern North Carolina, U.S.A. Treatments included PINE (traditional pine production), PSWITCH (pine-switchgrass intercropped), SWITCH (switchgrass monoculture) and REF (mature loblolly pine stand). Each treatment was replicated three times on 0.8ha plots drained by parallel-open ditches, 1.0–1.2m deep and 100m apart. Water samples were collected monthly or more frequently after fertilizer application. Water samples were analyzed for organic nitrogen (ON), ammonium N (NH4+- N), and nitrite+nitrate N (NO3−+ NO2−- N), ortohophosphate phosphorus (OP), and total organic carbon (TOC).Overall, PSWITCH did not significantly affect shallow groundwater quality relative to PINE and SWITCH. ON, NO3−+ NO2−- N, and TOC concentrations in PSWITCH, PINE and SWITCH were substantially elevated during the two years after tree harvest and site establishment. The elevated nutrient concentrations at the beginning of the study were likely caused by a combination of rapid organic matter decomposition of the abundant supply of post-harvest residues, warming of exposed soil surfaces and reduction of plant nutrient uptake that can occur after harvesting, and pre-plant fertilization. Nutrient concentrations returned to background levels observed in REF during the third year after harvest.

Soil and Aggregate-Associated Carbon in a Young Loblolly Pine Plantation

In order to assess the carbon (C) footprint of forest-based bioenergy systems, it is necessary to quantify soil C storage. This study addressed effects of intercropping loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) with switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) for wood and bioenergy production on soil C storage in coastal North Carolina, USA. Spaces between rows of bedded pine were intercropped with switchgrass or contained native vegetative regrowth after site preparation. Two years after switchgrass establishment, soils were collected from beds and interbeds of each treatment, and C concentration and δ13C were measured in bulk soils and aggregate fractions. Soil C concentration, soil C density (Mg ha−1), and aggregate-associated C were lower in pine beds adjacent to switchgrass compared with pines adjacent to native regrowth. In the greater than 2,000-μm aggregate size class, 11% of C was derived from new pine inputs in beds of the pine-switchgrass treatment compared to the pine-native treatment. These results indicate that increased belowground C flow in pine beds adjacent to switchgrass may be driving breakdown soil C. In the pine-switchgrass intercropping treatment, a greater percentage of aggregates (by weight and C content) was found in the 2,000- to 250-μm size class of both beds and interbeds, suggesting that this aggregate size class is sensitive to management. This study provides a baseline analysis of C storage under different management scenarios in pine forests and for investigating long-term (10+ years) impacts. Although presence of switchgrass reduced soil C over the short term, bioenergy intercropping may still be pragmatic from an economical and land-use diversification view point.

The Effects of Climate Change on the Development of Tree Plantations for Biodiesel Production in China

Biodiesel produced from woody oil plants is a promising form of renewable energy but a combination of tree plantations’ long cultivation time and rapid climate change may put large-scale production at risk. If plantations are located in future-unsuitable places, plantations may fail or yield may be poor, then significant financial, labor, and land resources invested in planting programs will be wasted. Incorporating climate change information into the planning and management of forest-based biodiesel production therefore can increase its chances of success. However, species distribution models, the main tool used to predict the influence of future climate–species distribution modeling, often contain considerable uncertainties. In this study we evaluated how these uncertainties could affect the assessment of climate suitability of the long-term development plans for forest-based biodiesel in China by using Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn as an example. The results showed that only between 59% and 75% of the planned growing areas were projected suitable habitats for the species, depending on the set-up of simulation. Our results showed the necessity for explicitly addressing the uncertainty of species distribution modeling when using it to inform forest-based bioenergy planning. We also recommend the growing area specified in China’s national development plan be modified to lower the risk associated with climate change.

The Influence of Local Governance: Effects on the Sustainability of Bioenergy Innovation

This paper deals with processes and outcomes of sustainable bioenergy development in Emilia Romagna. It draws on an on-going research project concerning inclusive innovation in forest-based bioenergy and biogas in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Italy. The goal is to explore how local governance impacts on inclusive innovation processes and triple bottom sustainability of bioenergy development in Emilia Romagna and, ultimately, to contribute to the debate on the bioeconomy. It thus compares the case of biogas and forest-based bioenergy production. The study adopts an analytical framework called Grounded Innovation (GRIP) and the local governance approach. The study uses qualitative methods and particularly semi-structured interviews and governance analysis. The key results show different outcomes on both inclusive innovation and triple bottom-line dimensions. Biogas has not fostered inclusiveness and triple bottom line sustainability benefits, contrary to forest-based bioenergy. The findings indicate that the minor role of local actors, particularly municipalities, in favour of industrial and national interests may jeopardise the sustainability of biobased industries. Besides, policies limited to financial incentives may lead to a land-acquisition rush, unforeseen local environmental effects and exacerbate conflicts.

Towards inclusive innovation praxis in forest-based bioenergy

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we apply grounded innovation platforms (GRIPs) as a tool for inclusive innovation in relation to forest-based bioenergy in Norway. We use cases studied in the Triple Bottom Line Outcomes for Bioenergy Development and Innovation in Rural Norway research project. We review the notion of GRIPs and classify them. We analyse forms of GRIPs and the hypothesis that forms of GRIP affect ‘triple bottom line’ outcomes of sustainable development. We relate our findings to the debates on inclusive innovation, which we argue is not simply an issue for ‘developing countries’. Development, being understood to be different from economic growth, is concerned with inclusion and exclusion, and, in a world of growing inequalities, is a universal issue everywhere.

“The Devil Is in the Details”: Inland Northwest Stakeholders' Views on Three Forest-Based Bioenergy Scenarios

“The Devil Is in the Details”: Inland Northwest Stakeholders' Views on Three Forest-Based Bioenergy Scenarios

Use of a participatory approach to develop a regional assessment tool for bioenergy production

Recent years have witnessed an upsurge in certification schemes and sustainability assessment tools for bioenergy, however these mechanisms are often too generic, numerous and too broad for regional or local level implementation. Furthermore, these assessments are often weighted toward economic and environmental sustainability with less focus on social, cultural and institutional factors. This study was intended to overcome these limitations. We developed a community-driven regional assessment tool for forest-based bioenergy production in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (USA). Stakeholders representing local landowners, farmers, township supervisors, timberland management companies, venture capitalists, government organizations and local interest groups generated a preliminary list of criteria and indicators (C&I) in a series of focus groups and interviews, and narrowed the list using multiple criteria analysis (MCA) in a workshop. Participants ranked environmental protection as the most important and relevant sustainability criteria, although policy and governance, and institutional capacity were also weighted highly. The final set of C&I consisted of 17 criteria and 31 indicators (in parentheses): Economic (6), Environmental (7), Social (8), Policy and regulations (4) and Institutional capacity (6). This set reflected the general balance across sustainability principles valued by the stakeholders. While expert-developed sustainability assessments are routinely biased toward easily quantifiable indicators, the indicators that were considered important and relevant by our participants included both quantitative as well as qualitative indicators, in almost equal proportions. This participatory MCA method identified criteria and indicators that reflect the regional context and the concerns of local stakeholders, and data for many of these indicators are readily available.

Incorporating social benefits in multi-objective optimization of forest-based bioenergy and biofuel supply chains

Utilization of forest and wood residues to produce bioenergy and biofuels could generate additional revenue streams for forestry companies, reduce their environmental impacts and generate new development opportunities for forest-dependent communities. Further development of forest-based biorefineries entails addressing complexities and challenges related to biomass procurement, logistics, technologies, and sustainability. Numerous optimization models have been proposed for the economic and environmental design of biomass-to-bioenergy or biofuel supply chains. A few of them also maximized the job creation potential of the supply chain through the use of employment multipliers. The use of a total job creation indicator as the social optimization objective implies that all new jobs generate the same level of social benefit. In this paper, we quantify the potential social benefit of new forest-based biorefinery supply chains considering different impacts of new jobs based on their type and location. This social benefit is incorporated into a multi-objective mixed integer linear programming model that maximizes the social benefit, net present value and greenhouse gas emission saving potential of a forest-based biorefinery supply chain. The applicability of the model is illustrated through a case study in the interior region of British Columbia, Canada where different utilization paths for available forest and wood residues are investigated. The multi-objective optimization model is solved using a Pareto-generating method. The analysis of the generated set of Pareto-optimal solutions show a trade-off between the net present value of the supply chain and the other two investigated objectives. Moreover, there is a positive correlation between the potential to generate high impact jobs in the region and its potential to generate greenhouse gas emission savings.