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Forests
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Biomass and Bioenergy from Forests: Challenges and Prospects for the...
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Biomass and Bioenergy from Forests: Challenges and Prospects for the Future

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Economics, Policy, and Social Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2024 | Viewed by 3488

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Giulio Sperandio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria, Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, Monterotondo, 00015 Roma, Italy
Interests: agricultural and forestry mechanization; biomass harvesting; bioenergy; poplar; dedicated forest plantations; economic evaluations; machine costs; life cycle cost analysis; bioenergy supply chains
Dr. Andrea Acampora

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria, Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, Monterotondo, 00015 Roma, Italy
Interests: agricultural and forestry mechanization; biomass harvesting; bioenergy; dedicated agricultural and forestry plantations; bioenergy chains
Dr. Vincenzo Civitarese

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’Economia Agraria, Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 16, Monterotondo, 00015 Roma, Italy
Interests: prototypes for biomass harvesting; crop logistics; pellet; information communication technology; products and by-products of the wood-energy chain

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomass from forests and dedicated forest plantations represents a renewable source used in the production of thermal and electrical energy, as well as to produce timber for industrial use. From the point of view of energy production, it represents a valid alternative source to fossil fuels capable of producing energy in a more sustainable way and with a lower environmental impact. The biomass supply chain for energy is certainly more complex than the fossil fuel supply chains, but, especially in the heat-production sector, in small-scale supply chains, it is also economically more sustainable. However, the considerable variability of the raw material procurement conditions, linked both to the level of mechanization used in the various stages of the production process, and to the quality and quantity of product available, to market conditions and to price fluctuations, strongly affects the energy producible from forest biomass and the stability of its price. For this reason, all those production systems and models capable of optimizing the various production processes of the energy chain must be encouraged, providing solutions on the design, management and final transformation of biomass.

In this context, solutions that take into due consideration the objectives of social welfare and environmental protection, as well as those of economic sustainability, are extremely important.

The purpose of this Special Issue is, therefore, to collect new ideas on conceptual and experimental studies on the following topics:

- Innovative work systems for the production of forest biomass;

- Management of forest operations for the production of biomass for energy;

- Harvesting, extraction, chipping and transport of forest biomass;

- Small energy supply chain from biomass for heating and electricity;

- Economic aspects and sustainability of the energy use of biomass;

- Social and environmental impact of forest biomass production.

Dr. Giulio Sperandio
Dr. Andrea Acampora
Dr. Vincenzo Civitarese
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forest mechanization
  • harvesting of forest biomass for energy
  • biomass energy supply chain
  • economic, social and environmental aspects of the energy uses of forest biomass

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1945 KiB  
Article
A Combination of Traditional and Mechanized Logging for Protected Areas
by Natascia Magagnotti, Benno Eberhard and Raffaele Spinelli
Forests 2024, 15(11), 2021; https://doi.org/10.3390/f15112021 - 16 Nov 2024
Viewed by 297
Abstract
Teaming draught animals with modern forest machines may offer an innovative low-impact solution to biomass harvesting in protected areas. Machine traffic only occurs on pre-designated access corridors set 50 m apart, while trees are cut with chainsaws and dragged to the corridor’s edge [...] Read more.
Teaming draught animals with modern forest machines may offer an innovative low-impact solution to biomass harvesting in protected areas. Machine traffic only occurs on pre-designated access corridors set 50 m apart, while trees are cut with chainsaws and dragged to the corridor’s edge by draught horses. The operation presented in this study included one chainsaw operator, two draught horses with their driver, an excavator-based processor with its driver and a helper equipped with a chainsaw for knocking off forks and large branches, and a light forwarder (7 t) with his driver. Researchers assessed work productivity and harvesting cost through a time study repeated on 20 sample plots. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate productivity and cost benchmark figures, which were matched against the existing references for the traditional alternatives. The new system achieved a productivity in excess of 4 m3 over bark per scheduled hour (including delays). Harvesting cost averaged EUR 53 m−3, which was between 15% and 30% cheaper than the traditional alternatives. What is more, the new system increased labor and horse productivity by a factor of 2 and 7, respectively, which can effectively counteract the increasingly severe shortage of men and animals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass and Bioenergy from Forests: Challenges and Prospects for the Future)
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20 pages, 2081 KiB  
Article
Charcoal Trade in Niger—Product Flows and Business Models
by Mahamane Larwanou, Doris Mutta, Chemuku Wekesa and Anders Roos
Forests 2023, 14(9), 1910; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14091910 - 19 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1532
Abstract
Charcoal is used in Africa for household energy, and the sector involves different actors with specific business strategies. Based on theories on sustainable business models and livelihoods, charcoal traders in five cities in Niger were surveyed about supply chains and strategies. Most charcoal [...] Read more.
Charcoal is used in Africa for household energy, and the sector involves different actors with specific business strategies. Based on theories on sustainable business models and livelihoods, charcoal traders in five cities in Niger were surveyed about supply chains and strategies. Most charcoal is imported from Nigeria, and smaller quantities come from Benin and Burkina Faso or domestically. Men dominate the trade. Customers value charcoal quality, tree species, packaging, and low prices. Three groups of traders and their business models were identified: small-scale retailers, large-scale retailers, and wholesalers. The charcoal trade is typically combined with trade in other products and is frequently conducted with family members or friends; laborers are employed for loading and unloading. The charcoal business provides a complementary income for the traders’ livelihoods. Most respondents believed that trade would increase in the future; wholesalers expected promising future business opportunities. This study concludes that improvements should focus on quality, better marketing skills, and more sustainable charcoal sourcing. Charcoal use in the Sahel region of Africa should also be studied further to enable the development of effective policies in the West African bioenergy sector. The cross-border charcoal trade creates a need for coordinated policies for a sustainable charcoal sector in the Sahel region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass and Bioenergy from Forests: Challenges and Prospects for the Future)
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13 pages, 6142 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Energy, Dynamic and Economic Balance of Chipping Operation in Poplar Medium Rotation Coppice (MRC) Plantations
by Walter Stefanoni, Roberto Fanigliulo, Daniele Pochi, Laura Fornaciari, Renato Grilli, Stefano Benigni, Francesco Latterini and Giulio Sperandio
Forests 2023, 14(7), 1358; https://doi.org/10.3390/f14071358 - 30 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1030
Abstract
Exploiting renewable energy sources is one of the main strategies defined by the EU to overcome dependence on foreign markets for energy supply. Wood fuel sourced from the agroforestry sector can contribute significantly to achieving the goal, though its economic and environmental sustainability [...] Read more.
Exploiting renewable energy sources is one of the main strategies defined by the EU to overcome dependence on foreign markets for energy supply. Wood fuel sourced from the agroforestry sector can contribute significantly to achieving the goal, though its economic and environmental sustainability is intimately dependent on proper harvesting and chipping operations. In the present article, both economic and environmental aspects of Medium Rotation Coppice (MRC) were investigated regarding chipping. A small-scale chipper and tractor were equipped with real-time sensors to monitor time, t (s); fuel consumption, F (cm3); PTO torque, M (daNm); PTO speed, s (min−1); and stem diameter, D (mm) during the comminution of 61 poplar plants (gathered in 5 classes according to trunk diameter) grown in MRC system. More than 29,000 records were taken and analyzed. Predictive models for working time, working productivity, CO2 emission, energy consumption, fuel consumption and costs were also produced. Higher diametric classes exhibited lower fuel consumption, less CO2 emission and less energy demand during chipping. Time and operating costs were statistically different among classes, with minimum values of 0.22 (SD ± 0.02) h·Mg−1 and 12.07 (SD ± 0.93) €·Mg−1 in class 5 and maximum values of 0.64 (SD ± 0.09) h·Mg−1 and 35.34 (SD ± 4.88) €·Mg−1 in class 1, respectively. Fuel consumption ranges from 3.04 (SD ± 0.88) L·Mg−1 in class 5 to 7.32 (SD ± 1.46) L·Mg−1 in class 1. The lowest CO2 emission of 8.03 (SD ± 2.32) kg·Mg−1 was found class 5. However, the total cost of coppice production did not exceed large-scale MRC production due to the lower purchase price of the machinery involved. Eventually, predictive models showed high reliability as estimating tools for important variables, such as working time, working productivity, CO2 emissions, energy consumption, fuel consumption and costs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass and Bioenergy from Forests: Challenges and Prospects for the Future)
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