Category: Bioenergy and Biomass

Eucalyptus in the South

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Because it grows rapidly and can develop high wood density, there’s increasing interest in the South for growing Eucalyptus commercially as a bioenergy feedstock. For the South, this means finding and testing Eucalyptus species that will grow in temperate areas as well as genetically modified hybrids bred to be frost tolerant. Growing well under a…  More 

Futures Report Charts Changes for Southern Forests

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
  High elevation forest in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Photo by Zoe Hoyle. The Southern Forest Futures Project started in 2008 with a series of public meetings across the South to gather perceptions and input about the future of the regions forests. Project leaders then used expert analysis and models to forecast and interpret changes…  More 

Wood Industry Trends in the South Made Easy

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
An online tool developed the by U.S. Forest Service quickly reveals the economic impacts of wood-related industries in the states of the South. The South is often referred to as the “wood basket of the Nation,” and wood-related industries contribute to the economies of all 13 southern states to varying degrees. For analysis purposes, these…  More 

Bio-prospecting in Beetles

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Forest Service Grant Supports Undergraduate Research Funding from the U.S. Forest Service certainly served its purpose of enhancing undergraduate research at Delta State University (DSU) in Cleveland, Mississippi. Almost 3 years ago, Tanya McKinney and Ellen Green, associate professors of biology at DSU, started brainstorming a project to give science undergraduates research experience in the fields…  More 

Southern Forest Science in Support of a Low Carbon Economy

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Research from the Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) on biomass for energy and the capacity of southern forests to offset the  greenhouse gas emissions that have led to global warming are featured in the special issue of the journal Forest Science published in October. Often called the “wood basket of the Nation,” the forests…  More 

Bioenergy and Climate Change

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—come from ancient deposits formed millions of years ago beneath the Earth’s surface. These deposits are not being replenished. When these nonrenewable fuels are burned, greenhouse gases—including carbon dioxide (CO2)—are released into the Earth’s atmosphere, where they trap heat and contribute to global climate change. Burning wood also releases CO2…  More 

Wood for Electric Power, and So Much More

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
  A wood-to-energy gasification project by the Forest Service in Louisiana proves that its possible to produce electricity from forest biomass while promoting forest health and researching new sources of transportation fuels. In 2008, the Southern Research Station (SRS) Utilization of Southern Forest Resources (USFR) unit, the Kisatchie National Forest and Forest Service State and Private…  More 

North Carolina: A Bioenergy Case Study

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
State and Federal policies on renewable energy will, to a great extent, drive demand for wood-to-energy biomass feedstocks. Across the United States, 29 states and the District of Columbia have adopted renewable portfolio standards (RPS) mandating that a certain percent of the states energy come from renewable sources by a certain date. In the South,…  More 

Eucalyptus Symposium: February 22-24, Charleston, SC

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Register now:  Symposium on the Assessment and Management of Environmental Issues Related to Eucalyptus Culture in the South Eucalyptus species are among the most widely planted tree species in the world and of increasing interest in the United States for bioenergy. In the South, non-native Eucalyptus species have the potential to produce much more bioenergy…  More 

Bioenergy: New Ways to Operate

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
When serious discussions about producing energy from woody biomass first started, the costs of harvesting and hauling the small-diameter wood and residues proposed as feedstocks presented a major barrier to making the wood-to-energy market work. For over a decade now, scientists at the SRS Forest Operations Research unit in Auburn, AL, have been field testing…  More