Environmental and Energy Study Institute

Sustainable Forest Biomass Conference Call - November 29, 2007

This discussion, among forest ecologists and silviculturists, focused on the impacts of increased biomass utilization on forest structure, ecological dynamics, and overall environmental health. The group all agreed that guidelines, best management practices, or certification schemes need to be developed to ensure that biomass harvesting is done sustainably. Existing guidelines are either vague on biomass extraction (FSC, SFI) or contain numbers that are either suspect or supported in only one location (For instance, Minnesota’s voluntary standards for biomass harvesting). The group felt that a market for biomass could affect silvicultural decision-making in a number of ways, including an increased usage of whole-tree harvesting and more widespread stand-improvement thinnings. In the west, expanded biomass markets would likely increase the incidence of fuel reduction thinnings and restoration of dangerously overstocked stands. Where site quality is too low to grow sawtimber, a high value placed on forest biomass could result in clearcutting on relatively short rotations (~30 years). This occurred about 50 years in low quality hardwood stands in Tennessee in response to the establishment of a wood-based chemicals industry. Because of the complexity of this issue and the strong differences in different forest types, it was suggested that some kind of block-funding given to states could be effective. This funding could then be used to establish programs or fund projects to assist landowners and forest managers in developing forest management systems that include sustainable extraction of low-grade forest biomass.

Here are more detailed notes of this conference call (.PDF)