Forest-wood Chain Research Articles

Gaps and perspectives for the improvement of the sweet chestnut forest-wood chain in Italy

The paper provides a summary regarding the current state of silviculture and the use of sweet chestnut wood ( Castanea sativa Mill.) in Italy. Existing opportunities for chestnut silviculture are very promising because sweet chestnut covers nearly 800,000 hectares in Italy, representing almost 2.6% of the total area of the country, including 7.5% of national forest areas. In some geographic areas, especially in central-southern Italy, sweet chestnut is the only driver of the sawmill economy. In Italy, this species is typically harvested to produce solid beams and poles. In the field of load-bearing structures, research and innovation in silviculture have provided solutions to the growing use of industrial technologies, and sweet chestnut has become integrated into European standards with the same relevanceas the most commonly most used wood species, such as Norway spruce. However, diversification in wood products is lacking in regions that produce sweet chestnut, as the sawmills tend to be very chestnut-centric, and in terms of the types of final products sweet chestnut is applied to. The typical end uses for sweet chestnut represents a major weakness associated with the massive exploitation of chestnut wood. In addition, the production of sawmills in Italy has decreased recently due to the crisis-driven reductions inactivity. This transition has affected the traditional building sector. The most common wood quality defects associated with sweet chestnut, which limit the use of this species for other wood products, are well known by producers. To boost the demand for this wood, efforts must be made to identify more versatile uses for this wood, promoting differential forest management systems to obtain stems that can be utilised in other types of final products. A list of possible actions is considered to increase the applications for this species, which represents one of the best opportunities to develop a short supply chain.

Towards a comprehensive development of eco-innovation indicators in forestry sector: an application in the Italian Alps

The concept of “eco-innovation” has been increasingly used in environmental policy to analyze an innovation system taking into account social, ecological and economic pillars of sustainability. The aim of this study is to develop a set of eco-innovation indicators suitable to analyze the forest-wood chain at local level. The study was structured in three steps: literature review on eco-innovation indicators; defining a set of eco-innovation indicators suitable for the forestry sector; testing of eco-innovation indicators in a pilot area (Province of Trento, Italy). Eight indicators and sixteen sub-indicators suitable for the forestry sector were identified. The eco-innovation indicators were quantified using official statistics and new data collected by administering a questionnaire to 114 forest-wood chain actors. The results show an average efficiency of the timber processing and a medium-high level of enhancement of the wood residues generated by production process. Conversely, the level of collaboration between actors of forest-wood chain and institutional actors (universities, research institutes, R&D agencies) could be improved with the aim of increasing the diffusion of eco-innovation knowledge and information. The eco-innovation indicators developed by this study emphasize environmental impacts and negative externalities of innovation process in the forestry sector.

Ovire in rešitve pri sanaciji v ujmah poškodovanih zasebnih gozdov

Frequent natural disasters in recent years have been a major challenge in private forest management and have led to increased activity among all stakeholders along the forest-wood chain. In this paper, we reviewed the literature on salvage logging in private forests damaged by natural disasters, with the aim of identifying the barriers that private forest owners face in salvaging and solutions for faster and more efficient salvaging. After reviewing the relevant literature, we included 59 articles and 25 reports in the final analysis. The results showed that researchers have not yet systematically addressed the identification of barriers. We identified 51 barriers, which we classified into 7 groups, and 68 solutions, which we classified into 11 groups. Most researchers have dealt with barriers from the 'Characteristics of private forest owners' group and solutions from the 'Stakeholder Cooperation' group. Finally, we associated the identified barriers with appropriate salvaging solutions and found that all identified solutions represent a solution for at least one of the barriers and that each barrier has at least one solution. The research represents the first, but important, step in identifying the decision-making factors for salvaging in private forests damaged by natural disasters.

Recent Contributions of Some Fields of the Electronics in Development of Forest Operations Technologies

In the last years, there has been a growing need to improve forest-wood chain concerning all three pillars of sustainability (economic, environmental, and social). Using electronic systems, in particular GIS, GNSS, and various kinds of sensors related to forest harvesting, is clearly one of the most powerful instruments to reach this aim. The contribution of these tools to forest operation is wide and various. One of the most important application was integrating ICT and GPS/GNSS on-board systems on modern forest machines. This allowed one to ensure multiple benefits to forest operation field. On the one hand, electronic systems, and particularly GIS, could be used to improve forest harvesting with a previous planning of the skid trails network, in order to minimize utilization impacts and risks for operators, ensuring at the same time high work productivity. Moreover, GIS developed files could also be implemented in modern forest machine GPS/GNSS systems, helping forest machines operators to move only along a designed skid trails network or making it possible to avoid restricted access areas. On the other hand, modern forest machines could be equipped with complex and accurate sensors that are able to determine, register, and share information about wood biomass quantity and quality and even undertake economic evaluation of stumpage value. Finally, the input and output of these systems and sensors could be implemented in a decision support system (DSS) ensuring the best silvicultural and operative alternative from a sustainable forest management point of view. A detailed review of the contribution of electronics in the development of forest operations is provided here.

Assessing the forest-wood chain at local level: A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) based on the circular bioeconomy principles

In the last years, the circular bioeconomy has been recognized as key approach to increase the competitiveness of enterprises and economic growth in the European Union (EU) member countries. In the circular bioeconomy context, forest-based sector can play a key role. The aim of the present study is to analyze the forest-wood chain at local level following the circular bioeconomy approach. In this study, a set of indicators to quantify the 4R ("Reduce", "Reuse", "Recycle", "Recover") of circular economy has been defined and tested in a study area in Italy (Monte Morello forest, Tuscany region). The indicators that have been identified are: improving production process efficiency; reuse and life-span of wood products; optimization of potential wood assortments and energy recover from the wood products. By means of the indicators and a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), the current forest management strategy applied in the study area has been compared with other possible forest management scenarios, to evaluate the optimum solution. The results showed that, up to now, current forest management strategy did not optimize the commercial wood assortments because the timber harvested is wholly allocated for bioenergy production. The economic side can be improved, and the life-span of wood products increased by means of the valorization of the timber collected. Anyway, the results showed a favorable balance with regard to the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission – considering the fossil fuel substitution effect – and for the energy enhancement of deadwood stock of the study area.

Offerta e domanda di biomasse legnose ad uso energetico in provincia di Trento: un’indagine conoscitiva

Abstract: In the last decades, the energy policy of European Union (EU) has fostered the use of biomass from forests and outside forests for energy purposes. Firstly, the Green Paper on renewable energies of the European Commission, then, the Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources, the objectives of reducing the greenhouses gases (GHG) emissions and increasing the share of final consumption covered by renewable sources have been established. In this context, the present study investigated the flow of wood residues for energy use in the Trentino province - involving 82 wood processing enterprises (74% of total enterprises) and 22 biomass energy plants (85% of total biomass energy plants) - and quality of raw material used. The results show that in the Trentino province 100% of wood residues produced by wood processing enterprises are sold in the market (90.6%) or re-used within the enterprise (9.4%). Concerning the biomass sold on the market, 46% of wood biomass is marketed within the Trentino province, while 54% is marketed outside the province (Bolzano province, Veneto and Lombardy region). The biomass energy plants mainly use woodchips from forest and sawmills (86%), while sawdust and bark cover the remaining 10% and 4%, respectively. The biomass energy plants sample involved in the survey buys mainly raw material from traders (42.5%) followed by wood processing enterprises (34.3%) and forest enterprises (23.2%). Regarding the quality of wood biomass, only 54.5% of biomass energy plants sample checks the water content, while 41% buy certified woodchips. The results of this study highlight that forest-wood chain in the Trentino province is efficient in re-using wood residues produced in accordance with the principles of the circular bioeconomy, while there are still margins for improvement about the controls of the quality of raw materials used and to enhance of wood products of high added value (bio-textiles, bio-plastics).

Sustainability Assessment of Alternative Thinning Operations in Mediterranean Softwood Plantations

Mediterranean pines account for 14,000 ha in Tuscany alone, where they form large and homogeneous stands and represent an important resource for the forest economy. Among the harvesting systems applied to thinning operations, the most popular are whole-tree and cut-to-length harvestings. Both systems can be deployed with different levels of mechanization. The decision about which system might be the best option in a specific case possibly leads to conflicts due to different management goals, for instance when the shift from cut-to-length to whole-tree harvesting systems results in a decrease of costs and an increase of environmental burdens. Thus, an accurate determination of economic, environmental and social indicators is crucial to make balanced decisions. With that in mind, we carried out a sustainability impact assessment of typical forest-wood chain alternatives applied to young Mediterranean pine plantations and made a comparative evaluation by means of multi-criteria analyses. Trials were carried out in umbrella pine (Pinus pinea L.) plantations in Tuscany. The analyzed cases considered four thinning operations and included the processes of harvesting, extraction and chipping. In the analysis, 12 indicators were considered (e.g., global warming potential, fatal accidents). Results of the investigation allow quantifying possible sustainability impacts and, thus, supporting management decisions.

Analisi della filiera foresta-legno in una prospettiva di (bio)economia circolare: il caso studio della foresta di Monte Morello

Recently, the role of circular bioeconomy in order to increase the competitiveness of enterprises and economies of European Union (EU) member countries was emphasized. In circular bioeconomy, the forest sector has a key role with special regard to bioenergy production. The main aim of the present study was to analyze the forest-wood chain at local level (Monte Morello, Florence) following the circular bioeconomy approach. The study was divided in two steps: in the first step wood materials flow and carbon dioxide emission from the production process were analyzed; in the second step a set of indicators - specific for the forest sector - to quantify the 4R ( Reduce , Reuse , Recycle , Recover ) of circular economy was identified and tested. The following aspects were considered: improvement of production process efficiency; reuse and life-span of wood products; optimization of potential wood assortments; and energy recover from the wood products. The results showed that the forest-wood chain by thinning in the Monte Morello forest did not optimize the commercial wood assortments because all wood volume was allocated for bioenergy production. This aspect has generated a negative economic impact and reduced the life-span of wood products. Conversely, the results showed a favorable balance regarding the carbon dioxide emission - above all considering the fossil fuel substitution effect - and for the use for energy production of part of the great amount of deadwood of the Monte Morello forest.

Certificazione forestale in Calabria: attitudini, preferenze e disponibilità a pagare delle imprese di seconda trasformazione del legno

Abstract: Forest certification was born in the early 90s of the twentieth century in order to protect tropical and sub-tropical forests against a progressive deforestation and degradation. Forest certification is a valuable instrument for environmental protection and a useful tool of green marketing for forest-wood chain enterprises. In the last decades, in developed countries there has been increased consumer awareness of environmental protection and environmentally friendly wood products. This consumers’ attitude is related to the consumers’ willingness to pay a premium price for environmentally friendly wood products. In the international literature, some studies have investigated the consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for several certified wood products with different prices, while few studies have analyzed the willingness to pay of manufactures and enterprises of forest-wood chain for certified wood products. In addition, in the international literature there is a knowledge gap concerning the manufactures or consumers’ willingness to pay for local wood products compared to equivalent products from other geographical areas. Starting from these considerations, the main aims of this study are: (1) to analyze the wood manufactures’ willingness to pay a premium price for certified wood products; (2) to investigate the wood manufactures’ attitudes and willingness to pay for regional/local wood products. The study was conducted as part of the “Ambi.Tec.Fil.Legno” project involving 127 manufactures and enterprises of forest-wood chain located in Calabria region. At the end of the questionnaire survey, the information provided by 40 manufactures and enterprises of forest-wood chain were processed and analyzed (response rate 31.5%). The results show that the main factors that influence the purchase decisions of enterprises are the trust in the seller and the durability of the product. Concerning the manufactures’ willingness to pay for certified wood products, 40% of sample of manufactures is willing to pay a premium price with a mean value of 1.55%. A similar percentage of wood manufactures and enterprises (40%) are willing to pay a premium price to purchase local wood material with a mean value equal to 3.25%. The results of this study can support the decision makers in the definition of new strategies to enhance the forest sector in Calabria highlighting the potential benefits of forest certification and use of local wood at regional level.

Strategie di valorizzazione della filiera foresta-legno in Calabria: il punto di vista dei portatori d’interessi

Abstract: In Italy, the value of bioeconomy is 251 billion € and more than 1.7 million of workforce is employed in this sector. The forest-wood chain cover about 15% of total value of bioeconomy. The consultation draft of Italian Bioeconomy Strategy was presented on November 22, 2016. This document identifies three macro-sectors (agrifood, marine bioeconomy, forestry and biobased industry) with the respective objectives and priorities. In addition, some Italian regions are organizing to devise a regional strategy detailing the key points of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and Italian Bioeconomy Strategy in accordance with local peculiarities. In order to develop a regional strategy for the forest sector it is important to investigate the social demands and needs involving the local stakeholders. The aim of the study is to investigate the stakeholders’ opinions of Calabria Region (Italy) about the priorities of forest-wood chain to include in the future regional bioeconomy strategy. The stakeholders’ opinions were collected through the face-to-face administration of a structured questionnaire to 99 local stakeholders. The respondents assessed the importance of a set of objectives aimed to enhance the forest-wood chain at local level (economic exploitation of wood products; diffusion of forest certification; orientation of production to market demand; coordination of forest-wood-energy chain’s actors; implementation of environmental and cultural forest values; improvement of the level of mechanization in wood processing; improvement of the efficiency of forestry workers). In addition, the respondents assessed the capacity of some specific activities to achieve the above mentioned objectives. The collected data were used to define two strategies aimed to enhance the forest-wood chain in Calabria Region. The results show that for the interviewed stakeholders the main three objectives are: the implementation of environmental and cultural forest values, the improvement of the efficiency of forestry workers, and the diffusion of forest certification. In addition, the stakeholders highlighted the importance of the activities of environmental education for the citizens and the professional training courses for the forest operators. Finally, the diffusion of forest certification is a key issue for the interviewed stakeholders. This issue can be achieved facilitating the access of the certified products to the market and creating a chain-of-custody system for the wood products.

Comparison of co-existing forestry and reindeer husbandry value chains in northern Sweden

Forestry in Malå, northern Sweden, coexists with other land uses. Reindeer husbandry is in the area for centuries and requires large areas of grazing land. Competing land uses may threaten the Malå Sami village. The aim of the study was to evaluate increased consideration in forest management towards 1) reindeer husbandry, 2) nature and 3) a combination of the two. These scenarios were compared with forest management as it was in 2009. Results indicate that all three scenarios lead to a decrease in annual harvesting volumes of 0.2 to 0.4 million m. Forest industry dominated the economic viability in the area. Forest management adapted to the needs of reindeer husbandry resulted in less potential for yearly harvest, employment and profits from forest industry. On the other hand, it led to an increase in growing stock and consequently the potential for carbon sequestration over time. Indeed the increased sequestration would compensate for all fossil emissions of carbon from the Forest Wood Chain (FWC). The nature scenario had minor effects on economic result and on the emissions of fossil carbon. The combined scenario gave a reduced economic performance for the FWC. A scenario based on forest management accommodating the needs of reindeer husbandry gave the best economic result for the reindeer chain, due to high survival rate of the reindeer. However the economic importance of reindeer husbandry in the region was small compared to the FWC. Results from scenario analysis could serve as a platform for mutual understanding between stakeholders.3

Wood properties: future needs, measurement and modelling

Wood products differ from other manufactured products by the fact that they originate from raw material developed in forest trees, according to complex biological processes, influenced by environmental conditions and changes. These conditions depend on silviculture, in turn influenced by economic, ecological, and social factors. Forests are an important carbon sink. The subsequent sequestration of carbon in wood products is allowed by the consumption of durable products corresponding to traditional and innovative utilizations. Within this context, one of the main challenges for the current forest-wood research is to bring together the knowledge on how wood properties are developed and can be controlled in forests and the performance required for traditional and emerging end-use wood products. The success as raw material and as manufactured and sometimes complex products requires an improved understanding of wood properties and the capacity of accurately measuring them, both in standing trees and not far to the service conditions, and assembling the successive knowledge along the forest-wood chain in relevant models and simulation tools.

Monitoring energy efficiency and environmental impact of the woodworking industry in Germany

The forest wood chain is affected by the current policy framework in context with environmental and energy related issues in many ways. But since policy instruments interfere with certain parts of the forest-wood chain separately, there is no holistic monitoring installed which follows the development of the complete chain. Especially the development of environmental aspects of the production of wood products is a rather black spot. To include the environmental impact of the woodworking industry in long term evaluations of political decisions taken today, the monitoring of its changes is indispensable. The article presents a monitoring approach which combines comprehensive life cycle inventory data on product level with historical data on sector level. The approach is confirmed to be feasible for monitoring greenhouse gas emissions and the consumption of fossil fuels. The results show that from 2003 until 2012 the sawmill industry increased its average greenhouse gas emissions from 35 to 43 kg CO $$_{2}$$ -eq./m $$^{3}$$ and the wood based panels industry decreased the emissions from 353 to 325 kg CO $$_{2}$$ -eq./m $$^{3}$$ . In both cases, a change in the product mix of the two sectors was identified to be responsible. However, the results also indicate that both sectors gravely reduced their greenhouse gas efficiency due to a decreasing capacity utilization, which means that the environmental impacts for a specific type of wood product have changed distinctly over time. A comparison of the findings with displacement factors for wood products substitution was conducted to understand the relevance of the results. It showed that the development of environmental aspects of the woodworking industry needs to be taken into account for long term evaluations of political decisions affecting the forest wood chain.

Stakeholders' appraisal of biomass-based energy development at local scale

Bioenergy has a key role in the European Union (EU) policy aimed at enhancing energy security and mitigating climate change. In the implementation of EU policy at national, and—especially—at regional and local levels, the inclusion of stakeholders' opinions is crucial to increase social acceptance and to reduce conflicts between the parties. This study analyzes stakeholders' opinions of biomass-based energy development at the local level (Sarentino valley, South Tyrol region, Italy) by using the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats)-AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process) approach. SWOT-AHP methodology was implemented in three stages: stakeholders analysis, identification of the SWOT factors, and evaluation of the SWOT factors. Strategic factors were evaluated using the outcomes of a questionnaire administered to five groups of stakeholders (public administrations, NGO and associations, academia, farmers, and forest-wood chain actors). The results showed a firm prevalence for the strengths (33.3%) and opportunities (32.9%) over the potential threats (18.8%) and weaknesses (15%) of the actual bioenergy supply chain in Sarentino valley. SWOT-AHP methodology could be useful in the development and implementation of a local and regional participatory decision making process in the forest-wood-energy supply chain as it can provide structural and quantified analysis of the subjective preferences of the stakeholders.

Metodologija za ocene potencialov lesa v Sloveniji

The information on wooden potentials from Slovenian forests is important for all stakeholders involved in the forest-wood chain (such as enterprises engaged in purchasing, processing or sales of roundwood, pulp industry, CHP plants ...). For these stakeholders, the actual amounts of wood appearing on the market are relevant. Thus the amount of wood consumed by forest owners for their own needs should be excluded. The Slovenian Forestry Institute has developed its own methodology for the evaluation of the actual and theoretical estimates of the quantities of timber. This article presents the potentials of both coniferous and deciduous roundwood as well as wood of lower quality. The actual potentials are based on the five-year averages (2009-2013) of wood that had previously been marked by district foresters for harvesting and at that time appeared on the market. The theoretical potentials, on the other hand, delineate the maximum amount of wood that can be harvested annually and sold on the market, while providing for sustainable forest management at the same time. The results are given in net cubic metres (m3 without bark) and oven-dry tons (ODT) when dealing with energy potential of lower-quality wood. The results show that in the case of spruce and fir trees the actual net quantity of roundwood on the market amounts to 1,239,000 m3. The assessment of theoretically marketable potentials of deciduous roundwood is 410,000 m3, while the actual amount of the deciduous roundwood on the market is 206,000 m3. In the case of lower-quality wood, the assessment of the total theoretically marketable potential is 1,443,000 ODT, while the assessment of the actual potentials on the market amounts to 468,000 ODT. The results indicate a low utilization rate of Slovenian forests, especially as far as privately owned forests are concerned. Still, we should be cautious in interpreting the results, as the analyses of the actual potential consider only the timber that was marked for harvesting by district forester, while in reality the harvested quantities are likely to be greater especially in privately owned forests.

Recovery rate and quality of rotary peeled veneer from 30-year-old Pinus taeda L. logs

In the construction sector, wood is facing competition with other materials such as concrete, steel or plastics. Therefore, there is a need for more efficiency in the forest–wood chain by improving silvicutural management and wood processing technologies. The objective of the study is to analyse the influence of log diameter and quality to recovery rate, veneer quality and economic benefit. The trees used in the study came from a 30-year-old Pinus taeda L. thinning trial in Southern Brazil. In total, 57 logs (20.7 to 67.0 cm) were peeled following the standard industrial processing methods of the plywood mill. Average recovery rate was 54 % ranging from 35 to 72.6 %, with a linear trend (R 2 = 0.48) of increasing recovery with an increment on the log small-end diameter. Results show that the gap between theoretically possible and real recovery was lower in the logs with bigger diameters, indicating their higher efficiency in industrial processing. Moreover, the economic analysis detected that the current prices for log assortments reflect only the industrial potential of low-quality pruned logs. An optimised pruning strategy would result in higher industrial efficiency, which would allow higher log prices. The results indicate that the recovery rate of bigger logs is higher in terms of volume of peeled veneer. The quality and therefore the value obtained from each log were negatively influenced by inadequate pruning strategies. Management of pines for higher value utilisation requires optimized thinning and pruning strategies in order to meet high growth rates and proportionally bigger dimensions of clear wood.

Towards assessing the sustainability of European logging operations

The forest-based sector has been at the forefront in operationally implementing the sustainability concept, its associated principles and indicators for sustainable forest management. Several methods have been developed to study environmental impacts of forestry activities, but none of the existing tools address all the dimensions of sustainability along the whole forest wood chain (FWC) in a balanced way. Consequently, the decision was made to develop a tool for sustainability impact assessment (ToSIA), the modelling framework for sustainability impact assessment of FWCs. The objective of the EU Project Eforwood was to develop ToSIA, a decision support tool. Within ToSIA, a FWC is modelled as a number of interconnected processes. For each process, a range of economic, environmental and social indicators and their respective values are calculated, thus representing the three pillars of sustainability. By this method, the multifunctionality of forests can be assessed and supply chains can be compared with respect to sustainability. Sensitivity analysis and scenario techniques can be applied to learn about the effect of expected changes to the structure of the chain, the material flows and the indicator values. In order to provide the tool with information about forest and logging operations, data were collected at two fundamental levels: (1) a regional level with case studies in Scandinavia, Iberia and Baden-Wurttemberg and (2) a European level with a case study that reflects conditions in the 27 countries of the European Union. This paper describes and details the harvesting and logging processes for the European countries. The results are displayed for each of the three regional case studies as well as aggregated to five principal areas in Europe: Eastern, Northern, Western, Central and Southwest Europe.

A transport tool to evaluate sustainability impacts of transport processes within the Forest Wood Chain

The development of ToSIA (tool for sustainability impact assessment of the Forest Wood Chain) involved to measure economic, social and environmental indicators of all transformation processes belonging to the Forest Wood Chain (FWC). In this context, a specific tool has been developed to measure indicators related to almost all transport processes of each European FWC. The aim of this article is to describe the approach and the method used to set up this tool and also to illustrate some of its applications through an example. The example shows how the tool can deal with major transport issues by determining, in a German case, the distances (respectively, 330 and 280 km) setting the economic advantage to use rail and inland waterways instead of road. Moreover, it evaluates the implications of such changes in term of Green House Gas reduction (respectively, 50 and 56%).

Public policies as institutions for sustainability: potentials of the concept and findings from assessing sustainability in the European forest-based sector

It is becoming increasingly apparent that the institutional dimension is of critical importance for achieving sustainable development, which is why the view that it should be considered as a fourth dimension of sustainability is acquiring increased support. It is argued that the institutional dimension represents an important challenge to the full integration of the economic, social and environmental sustainability objectives within the necessary institutional setting. But despite its importance, the latter is often neglected when it comes to scientific assessments of sustainability performance. A fact that holds particularly true for the forestry sector. The aim of the present paper is to describe and discuss how the institutional dimension of sustainability can be incorporated into a Sustainability Impact Assessment of the European Forest-Wood-Chain (FWC) by using a policy database developed within the context of EFORWOOD. The policy database, covering all policies of key relevance to FWC-sustainability, was employed for the purpose of connecting the EFORWOOD sustainability indicators to its institutional and political background. This connection provides direct and detailed insights into the governance structures prevailing in the European forest-based sector and thereby into the institutional dimension of FWC-sustainability. The results illustrate that FWC-sustainability is governed and regulated rather inconsistently by the many political institutions involved, various types of policies in force, and different modes of governance applied. The connection between the EFORWOOD sustainability indicators and a comprehensive database of sector-related policies thus presents a feasible approach for overcoming the lack of consideration given to the institutional sphere of sustainability.

Exploratory multi-criteria analysis in sustainability impact assessment of forest-wood chains: the example of a regional case study in Baden–Württemberg

Sustainability impact assessment (SIA) is a prospective, integrated assessment approach for potential impacts of policy actions. Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) can be used to facilitate a multi-indicator evaluation in this framework in order to foster rational and transparent decision-making processes for SIA. Based on the outputs of the EFORWOOD project, this paper presents an exploratory MCA to a regional forest-wood chain (FWC) in Baden–Wurttemberg. This assessment is based on a set of sustainability indicators at process level for a baseline year 2005, reference futures ‘A1’ and ‘B2’ following the definition of the IPCC and a bio-energy scenario implanted into the reference future ‘A1’. The indicator values were calculated by the process tool ToSIA. It is demonstrated how time steps for parts of the regional FWC (forest management, harvest and transport to the mill gate) can be evaluated, as well as the outcomes of different scenarios for a time period. For this purpose, a novel software tool, ToSIA-MCA, is used to calculate relative sustainability impact rating (SIR) based on a PROMETHEE II algorithm. Further, we performed uncertainty analysis to test the stability of ranking results in the absence of real preference information with regard to uncertainty in indicator data. By comparing different indicator weighting patterns, the sensitivity of SIR calculation was further tested. The exploratory MCA outcomes are critically evaluated against the background of assumptions, and data used in the regional case, and an outlook is given on the importance to gain stronger stakeholder involvement in real-life applications.