This unique book provides the first comprehensive overview of wood based bioenergy in the northern hardwood forests of the Eastern United States. This includes a holistic look at the topic of wood based bioenergy, as well as focused analyses of key topics. This book is relevant to engineers, project developers, foresters, economists, sociologists, environmental scientists and natural resource managers. Most chapters also provide practical hands-on advice for the practitioner, and provide a valuable resource for anyone who is considering developing a woody bioenergy project.

This publication highlights the use of wood for energy and includes the most recent statistics on wood energy markets across the UNECE region. It aims to communicate the relevance of wood energy in the region and help bridge information about the forest and energy sectors. It also intends to offer some of the best-available information on the role that wood energy can play in various sectors to support environmental, energy, and socio-economic strategies toward a greener economy. It focuses on commercial wood energy uses in the UNECE including energy generated for cooking, heating and electricity generation.

In the US South, wood-based bioenergy schemes are being promoted and implemented through a powerful vision merging social, environmental, and economic benefits for rural, forest-dependent communities. While this dominant narrative has led to heavy investment in experimental technologies and rural development, many complexities and complications have emerged during implementation. Forests as Fuel draws on extensive multi-sited ethnography to ground the story of wood-based bioenergy in the biophysical, economic, political, social, and cultural landscape of this region. This book contextualizes energy issues within the history and potential futures of the region’s forested landscapes, highlighting the impacts of varying perceptions of climate change and complex racial dynamics. Eschewing simple answers, the authors illuminate the points of friction that occur as competing visions of bioenergy development confront each other to variously support, reshape, contest, or reject bioenergy development. Building on recent conceptual advances in studies of sociotechnical imaginaries, environmental history, and energy justice, the authors present a careful and nuanced analysis that can provide guidance for promoting meaningful participation of local community members in renewable energy policy and production while recognizing the complex interplay of factors affecting its implementation in local places.

This comprehensive textbook explores the boreal forests of Northern Europe, Finland, Sweden and Norway. Students will gain an overview of the forest ecosystem and the services it provides for modern society. From the production of timber, to the supply of food products or their use as a recreational space for human wellbeing – our forests serve many needs. Accordingly, the respective chapters cover various types of ecosystem service, e.g. supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural services. The book’s main focus is on the management of boreal forests for the production of these ecosystem services. Addressing modern challenges, e.g. managing vulnerable boreal forests for adaptation to climate change, is an important aspect throughout the volume. Traditional forest management has to adapt and evolve in order to meet the increasing risk of abiotic and biotic damages to our forest biomass. Future forestry graduates will have to face more and more of these challenges; consequently, the book provides them with a wealth of scientific knowhow and possible counter-strategies. Forestry students in the Northern Hemisphere, be it in Europe, North America or Asia, will find this book an excellent reference guide. To make the content more accessible, it has been enriched with a clear structure, numerous illustrations and learning objectives.

A captivating analysis of the past, present, and future of northeastern forests and the forces that have shaped them The northeastern United States is one of the most densely forested regions in the country, yet its history of growth, destruction, and renewal are for the most part poorly understood--even by specialists. In this engaging look at both the impermanence and the resilience of the northeastern forest ecosystems, Charles D. Canham provides a synthesis of modern ecological research and explores critical threats that include logging, fire suppression, disease, air pollution, invasive species, and climate change. Providing a historical perspective on how northeastern forests have changed since the arrival of European settlers, Canham also utilizes new theoretical models to predict how these ecosystems will change and adapt to an uncertain future. This is an informed and accessible investigation of an endangered natural landscape that examines the ramifications of the scientific controversies and ethical dilemmas shaping the future of northeastern forests.

This book explains forest and woody biomass harvest, harvesting machines, systems, logistics, supply chain management, best management practices, harvest scheduling and carbon sequestration. It also covers applications of harvesting principles in forest and biomass management practices. The book provides an in-depth understanding of functions and applications of current and future harvesting technologies, the unique characteristics of harvesting machine with respect to cost, productivity, and environmental impacts. Special features include harvest machine illustrations and images of field operations, tabular presentations of filed studies of forest operations and detailed modelling processes for forest and biomass harvest logistics and supply chain management. Specifically, the book is designed for students, researchers, educators, and practitioners in the field of forest and biomass harvest and logistics. The book’s contents have been tested in teaching as the Harvesting Forest Product class for undergraduates and graduates in the Division of Forestry and Natural Resources at West Virginia University since 2000. The information contained in this book is a robust reference resource for students who would be future forest and biomass managers, timber contractors, entrepreneurs, researchers, and educators in the fields of forest and biomass operations, engineering, and resource management.

Torrefaction of Biomass for Energy Applications: From Fundamentals to Industrial Scale explores the processes, technology, end-use, and economics involved in torrefaction at the industrial scale for heat and power generation. Its authors combine their industry experience with their academic expertise to provide a thorough overview of the topic. Starting at feedstock pretreatment, followed by torrefaction processes, the book includes plant design and operation, safety aspects, and case studies focusing on the needs and challenges of the industrial scale. Commercially available technologies are examined and compared, and their economical evaluation and life cycle assessment are covered as well. Attention is also given to non-woody feedstock, alternative applications, derived fuels, recent advances, and expected future developments. For its practical approach, this book is ideal for professionals in the biomass industry, including those in heat and power generation. It is also a useful reference for researchers and graduate students in the area of biomass and biofuels, and for decision makers, policy makers, and analysts in the energy field. - Compares efficiency and performance of different commercially available technologies from the practical aspects of daily operation in an industrial scale plant - Presents a cost analysis of the production, logistics, and storage of torrefied biomass - Includes case studies addressing challenges that may occur in the daily operation in an industrial scale plant - Covers other associated technologies, the densification of torrefied biomass, and non-woody feedstock