IUFRO Spotlight #88 – Using a social science lens on the forest bioeconomy
IUFRO Spotlight #88 – Using a social science lens on the forest bioeconomy
In many countries, forests are important sources of renewable biomass and figure prominently in bioeconomy strategies.
Forests can be stretched beyond their traditional applications and used in textiles, chemicals, and cross-laminated timber, among other things, and can provide climate and ecological benefits, lead to rural employment opportunities and add to regional growth.
Read more…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
The Future of Forests and Forestry in Asia and the Pacific
A report from the partner event on the opening day of the 27th Session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission by Dr Michael Kleine, IUFRO Deputy Executive Director
The 27th Session of the Asia-Pacific Forestry Commission, taking place at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Convention Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka from 23-27 October 2017, started with a partner event on the future of forests to be assessed in the forthcoming 3rd Asia-Pacific Forest Outlook Study “The future of forests and forestry in Asia and the Pacific: The path to 2030 and beyond”. Read more…
Using the forest sector to help mitigate climate change
INTERVIEW with keynote speaker Dr. Werner Kurz,
Canadian Forest Service (Natural Resources Canada), Canada
Keynote Plenary Session 1
Thursday, 21 September, 10:30 – 12:00,
Rolf Böhme Saal (Konzerthaus Freiburg)
“The potential contribution of the forest sector to climate change mitigation”
Biomass – Capturing the Potential
Session title: Sustainable biomass for Asia’s growing bioeconomy: regional initiatives and promising examples
Moderator: Viktor J. Bruckman (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria; coordinator IUFRO TF “SFBN”)
Monday, 24 October 2016, 16:00-180:00 (302 A)
Find more information on the IUFRO Task Force, Sustainable Forest Biomass Network, at:
http://www.iufro.org/science/task-forces/forest-biomass/
In this session the speakers gave examples of concepts and cases for the sustainable development of biomass in Asia and Oceania. The variety of topics and local conditions highlighted the diversity of research required to provide a sound scientific basis to guide policy that supports innovation and protects forest land from degradation, over-exploitation, and subsequent negative impacts on ecosystem services. Read more…
Spotlight #34 – Investigating Potential and Risks in Biomass
Coppice woodlands once provided significant shares of biomass for thermal energy in the proximity to urban areas, while representing hotspots of biodiversity. Can we adopt traditional management practices to today’s needs and still ensure sustainable production? And how can we harmonize existing guidelines to achieve this goal? The image shows a Quercus-Carpinus dominated outgrown coppice forest that is situated within the city boundaries of Vienna, Austria. (Photo by Viktor Bruckman)
Renewable resources are critical to the sustainable future of our planet. That means biomass is being looked on, in many ways, as a potential game-changer.
It is seen as a mitigator of climate change, as a source of energy and as the source for a variety of bio-based products that range from wood to bio-plastics and composite materials.
Recognizing this, IUFRO’s newly constituted Sustainable Forest Biomass Network Task Force plans to explore the potentials and the risks of further development of biomass – specifically biomass from forests.
The Task Force is one of several organized to advance knowledge under five research themes in accordance with the IUFRO 2015-2019 Strategy. Read more…
Congress Spotlight #24 – Got a question? Biomass may be the answer
Got a question? Biomass may be the answer
By selecting proper species and breeding experiments as well as genetic modifications as done here in Thailand, fast growing species plantations are capable of producing enormous amounts of biomass within short periods of time. The challenge is, however, to sustain soil fertility, biodiversity and other ecosystem services such as clean water. (Photo by Viktor Bruckman)
It’s just possible that sustainable biomass could be, if not a panacea for the world’s energy challenges, then perhaps the next best thing.
And not only the energy sector would benefit. The reasons for the sustainable use of biomass are many and good, says Dr Viktor Bruckman of the Commission for Interdisciplinary Ecological Studies at the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
In addition to the energy aspect, he adds that biomass offers a range of possibilities as a valuable feedstock for industrial processes. Chemical compounds in biomass can be separated and rearranged to produce everything from composites for use in the automobile industry, to fibres to pesticide ingredients, among others.
Congress Spotlight #21 – The forest pharmacy and food store
The forest pharmacy and food store
Forest berries (Petr Kratochvil)
Sometimes, they say, you can’t see the forest for the trees.
And one group of sub-plenary session organizers for the upcoming IUFRO World Congress in Salt Lake City might amend that to read: “Sometimes you can’t see the forest for anything but the timber value in the trees.”
The organizers – Hannu Raitio and Tuija Sievänen of the Finnish Forest Research Institute; James Chamberlain of the U.S. Forest Service; and Carsten Smith-Hall of Denmark’s University of Copenhagen, will present a session entitled: The value and challenges of integrating food and medicinal forest products into forest management.