(2018) Blanco Vaca, Juan Antonio; Candel Pérez, David; Lo, Yueh-Hsin; Ciencias; Zientziak; Gobierno de Navarra / Nafarroako Gobernua, PI037 InFORest
Forest biomass, the most ancient of fuels, is again in the center of renewable energy
production. This chapter provides an introductory view of the main factors that condition
the ecological sustainability of this energy source. The basic concepts of ecological sustainability,
ecological rotation, and ecological thresholds (among others) are presented.
The state of the art on approaches to assess the sustainability of forest biomass production
for heat and electricity is discussed, and tools available for decision-makers to evaluate the
sustainability of forest biomass production and management are described. This chapter
then describes the main advantages and drawbacks of forest certification, growth and
yield tables, and ecological models in relationship to their use in sustainable forest management
for biomass and energy production.
