Wood's Crop Research Articles

Metabolomics characterizes early metabolic changes and markers of tolerant Eucalyptus ssp. clones against drought stress

EucalyptusL’Hér. (Myrtaceae) is one of the economically most important and widely cultivated trees for wood crop purposes worldwide. Climatic changes together with the constant need to expand plantations to areas that do not always provide optimal conditions for plant growth highlight the need to assess the impact of abiotic stresses on eucalypt trees. We aimed to unveil the drought effect on the leaf metabolome of commercial clones with differential phenotypic response to this stress. For this, seedlings of 13 clones were grown at well-watered (WW) and water-deficit (WD) conditions and their leaf extracts were subjected to comparative analysis using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). UPLC-MS and NMR analyses led to the annotation of over 100 molecular features of classes such as cyclitols, phenolics, flavonoids, formylated phloroglucinol compounds (FPCs) and fatty acids. Multivariate data analysis was employed for specimens' classifications and markers identification from both platforms. The results obtained in this work allowed us to classify clones differing in drought tolerance. Classification models were validated using an extra subset of samples. Tolerant plants exposed to water deficit accumulated arginine, gallic acid derivatives, caffeic acid and tannins at higher levels. In contrast, stressed drought-sensitive clones were characterised by a significant reduction in glucose, inositol and shikimic acid levels. These changes in contrasting drought response eucalypt pave ways for differential outcomes of tolerant and susceptible phenotypes. Under optimal growth conditions, all clones were rich in FPCs. These results can be used for early screening of tolerant clones and to improve our understanding of the role of these biomarkers in Eucalyptus tolerance to drought stress.

Genomic consequences of artificial selection during early domestication of a wood fibre crop.

Summary From its origins in Australia, Eucalyptus grandis has spread to every continent, except Antarctica, as a wood crop. It has been cultivated and bred for over 100 yr in places such as South Africa. Unlike most annual crops and fruit trees, domestication of E. grandis is still in its infancy, representing a unique opportunity to interrogate the genomic consequences of artificial selection early in the domestication process.To determine how a century of artificial selection has changed the genome of E. grandis, we generated single nucleotide polymorphism genotypes for 1080 individuals from three advanced South African breeding programmes using the EUChip60K chip, and investigated population structure and genome‐wide differentiation patterns relative to wild progenitors.Breeding and wild populations appeared genetically distinct. We found genomic evidence of evolutionary processes known to have occurred in other plant domesticates, including interspecific introgression and intraspecific infusion from wild material. Furthermore, we found genomic regions with increased linkage disequilibrium and genetic differentiation, putatively representing early soft sweeps of selection.This is, to our knowledge, the first study of genomic signatures of domestication in a timber species looking beyond the first few generations of cultivation. Our findings highlight the importance of intra‐ and interspecific hybridization during early domestication.

Short Communication: Analysis of the ultimate wood composition of a forest plantation species, Eucalyptus pellita, to estimate its bioelectricity potency

Abstract. Haqiqi MT, Hudaya D, Septiana HA, Ramadhan R, Yuliansyah, Suwinarti W, Amirta R. 2022. Short Communicarion: Analysis of the ultimate wood composition of a forest plantation species, Eucalyptus pellita, to estimate its bioelectricity potency. Biodiversitas 23: 2389-2394. Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell is one of the short rotation wood crop species widely planted in tropical countries, including Indonesia. Woody biomass obtained from this species is commonly utilized to produce fiber in the pulp and paper industry. Due to the growing interest in expanding E. pellita plantations, the potential application of E. pellita woody biomass to provide sustainable energy feedstock has been studied. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the ultimate composition of E. pellita wood (carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O)) to estimate its higher heating value (HHV) and bioelectricity potency. The wood samples were harvested at different plant ages, from the first to the fifth year. The percentage of biomass composition, including cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and extractives, was also calculated. The results demonstrated that lignin in the E. pellita wood increased to align with the increased plant age. Thus, this pattern was followed by significantly increased C content in the wood since lignin contained a primary source of C. Hence, this condition might enhance the HHV and electricity potency. The ratio of H/C and O/C was found to be one of the most promising factors in improving HHV compared to the extractive/lignin ratio. In the fifth year, the electricity potency of E. pellita showed the highest value (1.71 MWh ton-1). Therefore, this study suggests that E. pellita possesses the potential to be one of the promising crops for green electricity production.

Pavlovnia - highly productive culture for the production of biofuels and wood

Purpose. Creating Ukraine’s own feedstock base for the development of the biofuel industry through the use of energy-efficient technologies for growing high-yielding bioenergy crops on special energy plantations, which, along with high biomass growth for biofuel production, actively absorb carbon dioxide and emit significant amounts of oxygen.
 Research methods. Field, accounting, statistical, analytical.
 Results. Energy plantations of wood crops, which in a short term gives an opportunity to obtain a variety of high quality wood products. This line of business is new, which has already proven itself in world practice as one of the most profitable and reliable ways of investment. This process occurs most intensively in highly productive bioenergy crops of group C4, such as: paulownia, sugar sorghum, corn and sugar beets. As a rule, the invested funds are repaid for 3−5 years from the beginning of planting the energy plantation. For plantations with a short growing season, mostly fast-growing trees are used, which allows to reduce the growing season of trees from 10−20 to 3−5 years. This type of wood from specially created energy plantations can be used as a business and to process part of the raw material from waste, which is about 50% in the form of twigs, for fuel chips.
 Conclusions. The expediency of growing highly productive bioenergy crop of paulownia in different soil and climatic zones of the country in order to produce feedstock for the construction industry and biofuel production is substantiated. Ukraine has all the necessary prerequisites for this.

Heavy metals in soils under various tree species

The issues of mutual influence of forest and soil attract the attention of researchers not only in theory, but also in practice, especially in the forest-steppe and steppe regions of the country. The researchers drew attention to the rapid changes in soil properties associated with forest planting. In addition, the composition and properties of soils are affected by the rock composition of forest belts. The main chemical, physical, and physical-chemical properties of ordinary chernozems under forest stands, of different rock composition, were studied. The same indicators were investigated in the chernozems occupied by arable land. It is shown that protective forest strips do not significantly affect the physical properties of soils. Chemical and physical-chemical properties change under the influence of wood crops. The gross content and mobile compounds of heavy metals in chernozems occupied by tree species were studied. It is shown that various HM and their compounds have their own characteristics of content and intra-profile distribution. The content and distribution of heavy metals is determined by the pH value, the content and distribution of silty particles, and humus (Corg). In addition, the nature of vegetation and various types of wood species have a significant impact on the content and profile distribution of heavy metals.

The effects of weather, harvest frequency, and rotation number on yield of short rotation coppice willow over 10 years in northern Japan

Under global warming, expectations for woody biomass as a renewable energy are increasing. Short rotation coppice willow is the most widely planted energy wood crop. In this study, we examined the effect of harvest frequency on willow yield across multiple harvest rotations, something which is poorly understood. We planted 18 clones of Salix pet-susu and S. sachalinensis at a density of 25,000 or 16,667 cuttings ha−1 in Hokkaido, northern Japan, and harvested either annually or biennially for 10 years (2009–2018). Annual variation in willow yield per stool was analyzed using five linear mixed-effect models incorporating the number of rotations, harvest interval, and weather parameters during the growing season with clones and plant density as random factors. Number of rotations had a significant negative effect on annual yield in all five models. We estimated that yield could be halved over 10 consecutive years of harvesting. In three out of the five models, biennial harvesting had a significant positive effect on yield in comparison with annual harvesting. In addition, we found that weather conditions, such as hours of sunshine during growing season, air temperature in May (when leaf flushing occurs), and precipitation in July (when vigorous height growth occurs) have significant positive effects on willow yield. These results suggest that, to maintain willow vigor for longer time periods biennial, or more than two-year-harvest, cycle is recommended rather than annual harvest.

Testing of machines selecting mathematical model for a forest plantation operating

Forest plantations have been successfully established and operated in many countries since the middle of the last century. At the same time, in the Russian Federation (RF), where forest plantations are not widespread, timber processing enterprises are beginning to feel a raw material hunger due to the gradual exhaustion of available operational Mature forests. As a result, the average distance of harvested wood removal from natural forests is constantly growing, and the cost of logging roads increases every year. One of the problems that hindering the creation of forest plantations is the lack of a scientifically based system of machines in the Russian Federation that can perform the entire cycle of work: starting with planting (sowing) woody plants and ending with the collection of wood crops and preparing the territory for a new succession. This article describes a refined mathematical model of the modular principle of machines selection that intended for the full cycle of forest plantation operation. During testing, the optimal value was found that meets all the specified requirements. During testing was found out that finding the optimal solution by the chosen method requires a large amount of time.

Correction to: Genome-wide assessment of population structure and genetic diversity of Eucalyptus urophylla based on a multi-species single-nucleotide polymorphism chip analysis

Eucalyptus urophylla is a commercially important wood crop plantation species due to its rapid growth, biomass yield, and use as bioenergy feedstock. We characterized the genetic diversity and population structure of 332 E. urophylla individuals from 19 geographically defined E. urophylla populations with a reliability of 14,468 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We compared the patterns of genetic variation among these 19 populations. High levels of genetic diversity were observed throughout the 19 E. urophylla populations based on genome-wide SNP data (HE = 0.2677 to 0.3487). Analysis with STRUCTURE software, principal component analysis (PCA), and a neighbor-joining (NJ) tree indicated that E. urophylla populations could be divided into three groups, and weak population structure was observed with pairwise genetic differentiation (FST) values ranging from − 0.09 to 0.074. The low genetic diversity and shallow genetic differentiation found within the 19 populations may be a consequence of their pollination system and seed dispersal mechanism. In addition, 55 core germplasms of E. urophylla were constructed according to the genetic marker data. The genome-wide SNPs we identified will provide a valuable resource for further genetic improvement and effective use of the germplasm resources.

Climate change risks and adaptation: new indicators for Mediterranean viticulture

The Mediterranean region, expanding across Southern Europe and North Africa, has developed agricultural systems over thousands of years and today is a major agricultural trade actor in the global market. At the same time, environmental and social equity differences in the region are pronounced, and this inequality is reflected in the production of traditional Mediterranean crops, such as grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.), a permanent wood crop, well adapted to the lack of water and recurrent drought in the region, and that has a role in the mitigation role of agriculture in arid environments. Increasing the ability to adapt to adverse impacts of climate change is an important task for Mediterranean agriculture. The indicators selected are widely used by practitioners in this grapevine production sector, linking science to the tools used by stakeholders and therefore encouraging action and innovation among all stakeholders. The novelty of the study is: the definition of adaptation needs based on a combination of indicators of production quantity and quality with a consistent set of climate scenarios; the evaluation of probabilistic changes with special emphasis on drought in a region that has very large climate variability; the definition of adaptation needs based on a consistent set of scenarios in an over 2 million km2; and the evaluation of potential adaptation choices that may contribute to real-time policy analysis and development as national and international policies and agreements in the grapevine production sector. The climate changes scenarios are derived from global datasets. Adaptation efforts are estimated proportionally to the change of the climatic indices and are categorized into low, medium, or high, as a function of the excepted changes in climatic indices. The study emphasizes that non-informed adaptation limits future choices in areas severely impacted.

The growth and yield of Calliandra Callothyrsus trees as biomass-based energy feedstock

Calliandra callothyrsus is a woody plant that grows quickly and well in a wide range of natural conditions. C. callothyrsus is a tree species which easily cultivated and can be harvested in a short time (short-rotation wood crops). However, information about time and harvesting techniques that explain harvesting biomass is still needed. The aimed of this study is measured growth after trimming, the best time interval for harvesting and the results of cutting both biomass and the heating value contained. The method used is a destructive method. Observations are carried out repeatedly in a permanent plot. The permanent plot as treatment level cutting. So, this study evaluated the correlation between time and cutting level to growth and biomass harvested. The results showed that the best cutting limit was 50 cm above ground level. It is due to the high harvest biomass and the number of new stems that grow more. Meanwhile, to ensure business sustainability, the best harvest interval is 1 year. It will ensure adequate growth of new stems, large harvesting biomass and high calorific value of harvest. Harvesting potential can reach 25 m3.ha-1.yr1. While the heating value will be at an interval of 3016 - 3757 kcal.kg−1.

Bioenergy and ecosystem services trade-offs and synergies in marginal agricultural lands: A remote-sensing-based assessment method

Growing non-food crops in marginal lands has been proposed as a solution to avoid land competition with food production. Mapping marginal agricultural lands is therefore fundamental for the sustainable development of rural landscapes. This study proposes a method based on remote sensing data to identify marginal agricultural lands for the production of wood biomass, and analyse potential trade-offs and synergies between the new wood crops, food production, and Ecosystem Services (ES) provided by vegetation. The province of Rovigo (northern Italy) was chosen as a representative case study. Three classes of marginal agricultural lands were mapped through the use of the Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI): i) abandoned or unused agricultural lands, ii) potentially poorly or non-managed croplands, and iii) potentially low productivity croplands. Results showed that marginal agricultural lands cover 1.7% of the agricultural areas of the province, and approximately 13,642 MWh yr−1 of Second-Generation (2G) bioenergy can be produced in marginal agricultural areas while enhancing ES provided by vegetation, and avoiding any trade-off with food production. Since this energy potential covers just 8.4% of the total potential authorized in the province, the enhancement of ES could provide a suitable argument to support the conversion of marginal agricultural lands and increase the multifunctionality of the agricultural landscape.

Short Rotation Wood Crops in Latin American: A Review on Status and Potential Uses as Biofuel

Studies related to biomass production, with a focus on energy uses for short-rotation woody crops (SRWCs), are limited in Latin America. The research that is available relates to a variety of tested SRWC species (50 species), however, the most important species are Populus, Salix, Eucalyptus, Acacia, and Gmelina arborea. In the existing studies, stocking densities varied from 1111 to 20,000 trees per hectare, with square or rectangular spacing. One important advantage of SRWC systems in this region, compared to most regions worldwide, is the predictability of biomass yields due to the tropical climate conditions of the majority of the Latin American countries. Rotations of three and four years can be projected to produce total biomass yields of 30–50 tons/ha, with increments of 10–20 tons/ha/yr. Fertilization is performed in SRWC with the aim of preventing soil degradation and maintaining further production. In regards to possible uses of biofuel generated from SRWC in Latin America, an inconvenience is that there are neither well-established harvesting systems nor conventional pre-treatments to process the biomass. Processes that are available in the region that use biomass from SRWC for energy production are gasification and pellet production. Other potential biofuel processes, such as torrefaction and biochemical conversion, are limited in this area.

Enhancing organic and inorganic carbon sequestration in calcareous soil by the combination of wheat straw and wood ash and/or lime.

Increasing organic carbon sequestration in agricultural soils is important for improving soil fertility and mitigating climate change. Wood ash is generally applied as a potassium fertilizer, but the effects of simultaneous incorporation of wood ash and crop straw on the turnover of soil organic carbon (SOC) and inorganic carbon (SIC) are not well understood. In this study, a 118-day lab incubation experiment was conducted using a calcareous soil (with 10 years of continuous maize cropping history) to study the effects of adding wheat straw, wood ash and lime. Our study showed that straw addition led to an increase in both SOC (19%) and SIC (3%). Wood ash and lime addition decreased CO2 emission by 182 and 1210 mg kg-1 and increased SIC by 125 and 1001 mg kg-1 during the incubation, respectively, which was due to supply of CaO from wood ash and lime. The increase of SOC content was 2.4% due to the addition of lime. In addition to straw addition enhanced straw-derived OC content, the addition of lime also increased straw-derived OC content by 34.5%. This study demonstrated that lime was more effective in reducing CO2 emission and and enhancing SOC than wood ash. In conclusion, adding lime to calcareous soil might be an effective method of enhancing carbon sequestration and slowing climate change.

Production of selected short-rotation wood crop species and quality of obtained biomass

Short-rotation coppice (SRC) represents an important source of wood biomass. Many uncertainties create barriers to farmers establishing SRC plantations, especially under Mediterranean climate conditions. In this study, five species and respective genotypes were analyzed. The five species were Fraxinus angustifolia, Robinia pseudoacacia, Salix alba, Populus nigra (Limatola), and Populus × euroamericana, with the genotypes of the latter being Grimminge, Vesten, Hoogvorst, Muur. For the plantations studied, two different harvesting systems were replicated: the single machine pass, or cut-and-chip (CC); and the double machine pass, for which the tree are cut first, then chipped later (chip of stored trees CS). In the CC, fresh trees were harvested and chipped by Claas Jaguar 880. In the CS, dry trees were chipped by Farmi Forest CH 260. Within the same site, in climatic conditions and low-input management, the best result in terms of biomass yield was obtained from the black poplar Limatola. Both wood typologies and harvesting systems affected the chip quality. The disk chipper, when working on dried biomass, produced lower quality chips than the other chipping device in terms of particle size. In the chips obtained, there was an increase in the number of chips classified as being “larger size” and “oversized”, and a decrease in the percentage of those classified as “accept” (45–3 mm fraction). The chips obtained from dried trees were of better energy quality compared with the same biomass obtained from the fresh trees in terms of heating value and ash content.

Рослини роду Robinia як індикатор оптимізуючої дії зоогенного механізму екосистемних сервісів в умовах урбоекосистем

<p>The species diversity of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems (in experimental and control areas) in Dnipro, the large industrial city in the Steppe Dnieper region had been investigated. The scientific experiment was performed on the territory of a natural park “Druzhba” (control), artificial garden “Kirilivka” (experiment) and the industrial area of the Dnepropetrovsk Wagon Train Plant, WTP (experiment). The optimizing and protective effects of animal environmental component for the growth and development of wood crops (for example <em>Robinia </em>genus plant object which dominates in study area) by morphometric parameters of the leaf blade (length, width, area, and weight) as a part of the photosynthetic apparatus (in experimental and control objects) had been discovered. The mathematical models of a variation of these morphometric characteristics depending on environmental conditions have been constructed towards control.<em></em></p>

Impacts of Teratosphaeria leaf disease on plantation Eucalyptus globulus productivity

SummaryThe effects of Teratosphaeria leaf disease (TLD) on Eucalyptus globulus are varied, and it is currently poorly understood whether infection by TLD can cause long‐term growth effects. Such information would greatly assist disease management and pruning regimes on E. globulus plantation sites, resulting in both financial and ecological benefits. Two trials were established to quantify the effects of TLD on long‐term growth. The first was a 2‐year fungicide exclusion trial that aimed to determine initial growth losses between trees treated with fungicide and untreated trees. It was found that tree growth was not affected until a threshold value of 20% damage was reached. Volume was reduced by 17% between treated and untreated trees over the course of the 2‐year trial. The second trial, a 5‐year growth study, used differentially affected adjacent stands (one infected and the other unaffected) to look at the longer term effects of more severe defoliation (44–60%) caused by an epidemic of TLD. Results recorded 5 years after the epidemic showed that trees recovered to regain normal growth trajectories after the epidemic, but growth was retarded by ca. 1.2 years for both height and diameter compared with that of the adjoining unaffected stand. As the growth of trees was not permanently reduced by the epidemic, it is concluded that the financial impacts of TLD are more likely to be associated with the loss of income resulting from extensive branch death in the lower crown after leaf and stem infection, which makes the affected stands not suitable for pruning and hence prevents them from being managed as a higher value solid wood crop.

Performance of a new industrial chipper for rural contractors

A new chipper was designed around a versatile wheeled carrier, capable of both in-field and road traffic. This solution reduces relocation cost, and it is especially valuable when dealing with small, scattered fields. At the same time, good off-road mobility allows taking a large industrial operation directly into the field, to the benefit of improved downstream handling. The new machine is especially conceived for use by rural contractors, who must negotiate wood crops established on ex-arable land. Trials were conducted on three sites, representative of the most common conditions encountered by these contractors. Productive potential was very high, averaging 120 m3 loose chips (or 42 tonnes of green chips) per productive machine hour. Such a high productivity may strain the capacity of the chipper support fleet, especially if the latter needs to reach the chipper directly into the field. Therefore, actualizing the potential of the new system requires a good organization, possibly assisted by modern precision control technology.

Greenhouse gas mitigation effects of integrating biomass production into European agriculture

AbstractAs energy crop production on European croplands expands, driven by accelerating consumption of bioenergy, there is a pressing need to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with this production. The present study considers on‐going yield increases as a means of boosting agricultural output which results in a limited need to convert nature areas and grasslands to additional cropland. For nine land‐use variants, the study evaluates cumulative greenhouse gas emissions, net organic carbon fluxes from the soil, and abated emissions achieved by replacing fossil fuels for transport with biofuels. The main finding is that, in European agriculture, it is possible to combine large‐scale biomass production with food production sustained at current levels, with limited direct or indirect land‐use changes and while accomplishing significant net greenhouse gas mitigation. Maintaining the current (business as usual) agricultural system results in 4.9 GtCO2‐eq. of cumulative emissions by 2030. Intensified food production and energy crop production on freed cropland combined with mitigation measure implementation significantly reduces cumulative emissions for the annual crop groups of oil, starch and sugarbeet to 1.9, 1.5 and 2.1 GtCO2‐eq., respectively. By 2030, perennial energy crop production can mitigate cumulative emissions to a large extent, reaching negative emissions (i.e. net sequestration) for grass and wood crops of –3.3 and –4.5 GtCO2‐eq., respectively. For the variants compared to the baseline, nitrous oxide emissions will increase modestly due to higher fertilizer‐application rates, though at improved efficiencies per unit crop quantity produced. Emission mitigation results partly from the temporary increase in SOC sequestration though mainly from replacement of fossil resources by biomass resources. The results indicate that research and policy efforts aimed at further increasing productivity can raise the output from existing European croplands while being able to reduce or mitigate emissions significantly.

Association of indoor air pollution with acute lower respiratory tract infections in children under 5 years of age

Background: Indoor air pollution is an important risk factor for acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTI) in developing countries.Aim: To determine the relationship of indoor air pollution with ALRTI in children under 5 years of age.Methods: A prospective, case-control study of risk factors, particularly indoor air pollution, for developing ALRTI in children under 5 years of age was conducted in Udupi District Hospital. The WHO definition of ALRTI was used. Healthy children attending immunisation services were enrolled as controls. Data pertaining to important factors causing indoor air pollution such as cooking fuel other than liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and passive smoking were collected along with potential socio-demographic factors and nutrition in both groups and analysed.Results: A total of 202 children including 101 cases and 101 controls were studied. The proportions of infants (1–12 months) among cases and controls were 62·4% and 71·3%, respectively. Of those with ALRTI, 24·8% had pneumonia, 45·5% had severe pneumonia and 29·7% had very severe disease. Exposure to passive smoking was not associated with ALRTI. Cooking fuel other than LPG was significantly associated with ALRTI (OR 26·3, 95% CI 10·5–65·7). On logistic regression analysis of multiple risk factors, cooking fuel other than LPG emerged as a significant risk factor for developing ALRTI (adjusted OR 4·73, 95% CI 1·67–13·45) along with poor socio-economic status (adjusted OR 3·38, 95% CI 1·63–7·03). Other than LPG, the main fuels used were wood (95%), kerosene and dung and crop residues.Conclusion: Indoor air pollution caused by using cooking fuel other than LPG and socio-economic factors are significantly associated with ALRTI.

Comparative life cycle assessment of ethanol production from fast-growing wood crops (black locust, eucalyptus and poplar)

A life cycle assessment (LCA) study was carried out to evaluate the environmental implications of the production and use of ethanol from three fast-growing wood crops: eucalyptus, black locust and poplar in flexi-fuel vehicles. The production of a blend rich in ethanol: E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline by volume) was assessed and the results compared with those of conventional gasoline (CG) in an equivalent car. The following environmental categories were evaluated: fossil fuels use (FF), global warming potential over 100 years (GWP 100), photochemical oxidant creation potential (POCP), acidification potential (AP) and eutrophication potential (EP).The use of ethanol derived from black locust was found to be the option with the lowest impact in most categories with reductions of 97%, 42%, 41% and 76% for GWP 100, AP, EP and FF respectively in comparison with CG.Concerning the production stage of ethanol (excluding the stages of blending and use), black locust has the lowest environmental impacts due to the low levels of agricultural inputs during its cultivation. The poplar scenario has higher impacts in AP and EP due to the emission of diffuse substances from fertilizer application and the eucalyptus scenario in GWP 100, POCP and FF due to the use and requirements of heavy machinery during harvesting.The use of the LCA methodology has helped to identify the key areas in the life cycle of ethanol. Special attention should be paid to ethanol production related activities and forest activities oriented to the feedstock production. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.