TY - JOUR

T1 - Woodfuel Harvesting

T2 - A Review of Environmental Risks, Criteria and Indicators, and Certification Standards for Environmental Sustainability

AU - Lattimore, Brenna

AU - Smith, C. Tattersall

AU - Titus, Brian

AU - Stupak, Inge

AU - Egnell, Gustaf

PY - 2013/1/1

Y1 - 2013/1/1

N2 - Forest bioenergy feedstock production and harvesting systems range from small-scale fuelwood gathering to large-scale industrial plantations and the potential removal of all available aboveground and belowground biomass from intensively managed forests. Across this wide range of options for production and extraction, there is an equally wide range of potential impacts. It is critical that forest biomass procurement systems do not adversely impact forests or the environment; therefore, effective standards and planning tools, based on the best available scientific knowledge, must be in place to prevent these impacts from being realized, and hence ensure a sustainable industry. Sustainable forest management (SFM) certification schemes are one mechanism for applying measurable environmental standards (in the form of criteria and indicators, or C&I) to forest management systems. How existing SFM certification schemes and frameworks, such as C&I and Adaptive Forest Management, can be used to help guide sustainable biomass operations is discussed. The potential impacts of biomass production and harvesting on soil and water resources, site productivity and biodiversity in the forest, as well as issues related to greenhouse gas balances and global and supply-chain impacts, are evaluated. An example is then given of how principles and criteria for sustainable biomass production can be used to address these potential impacts.

AB - Forest bioenergy feedstock production and harvesting systems range from small-scale fuelwood gathering to large-scale industrial plantations and the potential removal of all available aboveground and belowground biomass from intensively managed forests. Across this wide range of options for production and extraction, there is an equally wide range of potential impacts. It is critical that forest biomass procurement systems do not adversely impact forests or the environment; therefore, effective standards and planning tools, based on the best available scientific knowledge, must be in place to prevent these impacts from being realized, and hence ensure a sustainable industry. Sustainable forest management (SFM) certification schemes are one mechanism for applying measurable environmental standards (in the form of criteria and indicators, or C&I) to forest management systems. How existing SFM certification schemes and frameworks, such as C&I and Adaptive Forest Management, can be used to help guide sustainable biomass operations is discussed. The potential impacts of biomass production and harvesting on soil and water resources, site productivity and biodiversity in the forest, as well as issues related to greenhouse gas balances and global and supply-chain impacts, are evaluated. An example is then given of how principles and criteria for sustainable biomass production can be used to address these potential impacts.

KW - adaptive forest management

KW - certification

KW - criteria and indicators

KW - forest bioenergy

KW - sustainable woodfuels

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84871880428&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/10549811.2011.651785

DO - 10.1080/10549811.2011.651785

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:84871880428

VL - 32

SP - 58

EP - 88

JO - Journal of Sustainable Forestry

JF - Journal of Sustainable Forestry

SN - 1054-9811

IS - 1-2

ER -