This assessment characterizes, at a regional scale, forest biomass that can potentially be removed to implement the fuel reduction and ecosystem restoration objectives of the National Fire Plan for the Western United States. The assessment area covers forests on both public and private ownerships in the region and describes all standing tree volume including stems, limbs, and tops. Analysis of treatment areas and potential removals is included. Additionally, the operational systems necessary to effect the treatments as well as potential erosion impacts, utilization opportunities and market implications were examined.

The most recent advances in research on coastal saline soil rehabilitation and utilization based on forestry approach are discussed. The forestry approach is emphasized rather than physical or engineering measures to ameliorate saline soils, which is significant for coastal environmental improvement and land resources expansion. The monograph is a useful reference for researchers using techniques of ecology, forestry and agronomy. Prof. Jianfeng Zhang works at the Institute of Subtropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry. He has been working on afforestation in saline soils for over 20 years.

The rural areas of the Pacific Northwest region have been economically suffering for over ten years. The urban areas have been economically suffering for over four years. This book describes how we can create economically and environmentally sound jobs by utilizing our greatest natural resource in the Pacific Northwest region ? our forests.We can choose to embrace a future to create good jobs in our region that will withstand the rigors of global job outsourcing and improve our environment. Six points to economic securityPoint 1: The United States and the Pacific Northwest have a ?lack of good jobs? economic recovery.Point 2: Global outsourcing is one of the factors for the loss of good jobs. America is increasingly unable to create good jobs that are able to compete against low wages from Asia.Point 3: Over three quarters of Forest Service lands in Oregon and Washington are at moderate to high risk from destructive wildfires because of large accumulations of brush and small trees.Point 4: The federal government spent over $1.5 billion in both 2000 and 2002 to suppress wildfires.Point 5: Rather than spend increasing sums of money on wildfire suppression, the federal government should sell excess small trees on our public lands to reduce the fuels accumulation. The sale of the trees would generate funds to pay for more fuels treatment.Point 6: Private companies and public agencies would hire Americans to work in the woods to reduce the fuels buildup and to process the woody biomass in the mills and ethanol conversion plants. We could use the ethanol fuel to power our vehicles. We would reduce our 60% dependence on imported oil from the politically unstable Middle East and other foreign countries. We could produce more lumber to reduce our 30% dependence on imported lumber from other countries. We could reduce the threat of wildfires. We could also build up our forests to store excess carbon dioxide to combat global warming.

What is forest-based biomass energy and why should we care? Written by environmental expert Frank Spellman, Forest-Based Biomass Energy: Concepts and Applications details how forest biomass can be converted to energy and energy products, including direct combustion, pellets, gasification, and co-firing. It explores the possibilities of forest-based

As the world’s population is projected to reach 10 billion or more by 2100, devastating fossil fuel shortages loom in the future unless more renewable alternatives to energy are developed. Bioenergy, in the form of cellulosic biomass, starch, sugar, and oils from crop plants, has emerged as one of the cheaper, cleaner, and environmentally sustainable alternatives to traditional forms of energy. Handbook of Bioenergy Crop Plants brings together the work of a panel of global experts who survey the possibilities and challenges involved in biofuel production in the twenty-first century. Section One explores the genetic improvement of bioenergy crops, ecological issues and biodiversity, feedstock logistics and enzymatic cell wall degradation to produce biofuels, and process technologies of liquid transportation fuels production. It also reviews international standards for fuel quality, unique issues of biofuel-powered engines, life-cycle environmental impacts of biofuels compared with fossil fuels, and social concerns. Section Two examines commercialized bioenergy crops, including cassava, Jatropha, forest trees, maize, oil palm, oilseed Brassicas, sorghum, soybean, sugarcane, and switchgrass. Section Three profiles emerging crops such as Brachypodium, diesel trees, minor oilseeds, lower plants, Paulownia, shrub willow, sugarbeet, sunflower, and sweet potato. It also discusses unconventional biomass resources such as vegetable oils, organic waste, and municipal sludge. Highlighting the special requirements, major achievements, and unresolved concerns in bioenergy production from crop plants, the book is destined to lead to future discoveries related to the use of plants for bioenergy production. It will assist in developing innovative ways of ameliorating energy problems on the horizon.