Helping ensure that forest bioenergy is environmentally sustainable
NOTE: This text is reblogged without changes from a blog post authored by Dr. Brian Titus that originally appeared on the BMC blog network, http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/on-physicalsciences/2021/04/15/forest-bioenergy-sustainable/, on 15 April 2021. This blog post is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. One of the authors of the original study, Dr. Viktor Bruckman, is the Deputy Coordinator of the Former IUFRO Task Force “Forest Biomass Network”.
Helping ensure that forest bioenergy is environmentally sustainable
Can removal of woody materials from forests for renewable bioenergy production be environmentally sustainable? A recent review in Energy, Sustainability and Society demonstrates that a wide range of environmental and social values can be protected when harvesting forest biomass, such as harvest residues, salvaged sub-merchantable trees, diseased or dead trees, and whole-tree thinnings.
Brian Titus 15 Apr 2021
Photo credit: David Paganelli
Spotlight #61 – Digging into soil and what it means to earth’s survival
The new living structures are the result of the re-elaboration of the old ones. Soil plays the main role in the process. So, humans who endanger life on our planet express a severe disagreement with a natural harmony that risks triggering negative feedback for the species. This always occurs to other species, why shouldn’t it happen to us? In: Zanella et al., 2018. Humusica 1, article 1: Essential bases – Vocabulary. Applied Soil Ecology, 122 (Part a), pp. 10–21.
Most people think of soil simply as something that grass, trees and other plants grow in and on.
But nothing could be further from the truth, says Dr. Augusto Zanella. Below in quotes, some key concepts gathered during an IUFRO Spotlight interview.
“Soils – in the forest and elsewhere – involve and affect ‘normal life’. They modify the air we breathe, they influence the climate, impact the food we eat and the water we drink”.
“Soil is not a substrate or a source of nutrients. It is a living matrix that sustains the functioning of every ecosystem”.
“It works like an efficient bank. It capitalizes energy and nutrients to be delivered for building and sustaining more complex and efficient ecosystems. It is a source of new materials, continuously generated from biodegradation and re-elaboration of dead structures”. Read more…
IUFROAO2016 – The Beijing Declaration
IUFRO Regional Congress for Asia and Oceania 2016
24 – 27 October 2016, Beijing, China
Forests for Sustainable Development: The Role of Research
The Beijing Declaration
IUFRO Vice-President John Parrotta presenting the Beijing Declaration. Photo: Gerda Wolfrum, IUFRO Headquarters
Research and Development for Sustainable Forest in Asia
Keynote Presentation by Don Koo Lee, Seoul National University, Korea, Tuesday 25 Oct 2016
This most inspiring talk about the important roles of trees, soil and forests for human life highlighted ways of how to achieve sustainable development and showcased success stories, especially the historic achievement of reforesting Korea.
Professor Don Koo Lee speaking about sustainable forest management in Asia. Photo: Gerda Wolfrum, IUFRO Headquarters.
The goods and services provided by forests are manifold and indispensable for people and the environment. Forests are crucial, among other things, for stabilizing soil, providing water resources, supporting biodiversity, protecting against natural hazards, delivering timber and non-timber products, and, quite importantly, combatting climate change. In order to ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy the same benefits from forests, sustainability is indispensable in the management and use of natural resources. Read more…