Bio Energy
In the future, an increase in the utilization of various sources of bioenergy will increase in Nordic countries. This raises a question what is the biomass production potential of forests now and in the future and how sustainable the energy production based on biomass are owing to possible large-scale harvestings of forest biomass. Furthermore, complex interactive effects between climate, bioenergy production in forests and the management of forests exist. These effects has to be identified and properly understood, if availability of forest bioenergy is estimated. In addition, the sustainability of the production in the management of forests will be ensured by assessing the environmental side effects and risks of the production. This analysis identifies the management regimes optimal in production of forest biomass for energy, with minimizing risks and adapting the production systems to the climate change. By doing this, estimation of the total role of forest biomass in energy production and its effects in substituting fossil fuels and mitigating the climate change can be assessed. The key objectives are summarized as:
- Understanding of the natural variability and predictability of bioenergy production at different scales in space and time in the context of climate change.
- Assessment of potential production of forest biomass for energy .
- Assessment of the risks of the production of forest biomass for energy.
- Assessment and development of forest management regimes to produce forest biomass along with timber to substitute fossil fuels and to mitigate climate change.
For further information, contact
Prof. Seppo Kellomäki (Co-ordinator)
Ashraful Alam (Researcher)
Faculty of Forest Sciences
University of Joensuu
P.O. Box 111, FI-80101
Joensuu, Finland.
Email: mailto:seppo.kellomaki@joensuu.fi
