An Assessment Of Forest-Based Woody Biomass Supply And Use In Montana

This report was prepared at the request of the Montana DNRC and quantifies the volumes of woody biomass supply and use in Montana

Email this story to a friend

Description

An Assessment Of Forest-Based Woody Biomass Supply And Use In Montana

Prepared by:
Todd A. Morgan, CF
Research Assistant Professor
Director, Forest Industry Research
Bureau of Business and Economic Research
The University of Montana Missoula

For:
Forestry Assistance Bureau
Forestry Division
Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
Missoula, Montana

29 April, 2009

Executive Summary

This report was prepared at the request of the Montana DNRC and quantifies the volumes of woody biomass supply and use in Montana. Four woody biomass sources were examined: live trees, standing dead trees, logging residue, and primary mill residue. Not all of the woody biomass supply described in this paper is or would be available to users because of various economic, logistic, and social factors. Estimates of the quantity potentially available from live and standing dead trees were made using the latest (2003 to 2007) Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data. Estimates of logging residue and primary mill residue were made using the latest (2004) information in the FIA Timber Products Output (TPO) database.

In-state consumption of woody biomass is 2.2 to 2.7 million dry tons (MDT) annually. Mill residue volume is declining as a result of ongoing losses of milling capacity, declining timber harvest volumes, and increased milling efficiency. In-state production of mill residue has fallen from about 1.5 to 1.0 MDT annually between 2004 and 2008, and between 99 and 100% of mill residue in Montana is utilized. Logging residue generated in-state has dropped from about 0.86 to 0.52 MDT per year during the same period. The amount of logging residue generated in Montana is declining as a result of falling timber harvest levels and increased efficiency. This woody biomass supply source is believed to be underutilized, but availability is constrained, and the characteristics of logging residue often make it unsuitable for facilities that require clean, dry feedstock.

Total live and standing dead tree above-ground woody biomass on Montanas 20 million acres of non-reserved timberlands exceeds 850 MDT and represents the largest and most feasible source for additional woody biomass feedstock. Live and standing dead tree above-ground woody biomass are underutilized due to political and economic constraints on availability rather than supply levels. The availability of woody biomass supply was estimated to be constrained to somewhere closer to 40 MDT, which represents a multi-decade supply from just 3.59 million acre (18%) of timberlands in Montana and an even smaller proportion (5%) of total biomass on timberlands. Nearly 70% of this potentially available supply of biomass is located on national forests, while just 46% of the potentially available acres are in national forests.

Declining in-state timber harvest, especially on the largest landownership (i.e., national forests), has profoundly impacted the states wood products industry and may impact the potential development of a biomass industry in Montana. More woody biomass material from the sources examined could become available through increases in commercial timber harvests, salvage logging, fire hazard reduction treatments, forest restoration, and/or pre-commercial thinnings.

Introduction

This report was prepared at the request of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) for the purpose of examining Montana forest biomass supply and availability. This paper describes and quantifies the volumes of woody biomass supply from several sources in Montana. Volumes of woody material used by existing Montana facilities (including woody biomass users and traditional timber users like saw, veneer, and pulp mills, log home manufacturers, and post and pole producers) are also summarized in order to provide perspective on the amount of wood used by in-state facilities relative to the supply. (Woody biomass does not include tree leaves or needles.) Four woody biomass sources are examined: live trees, standing dead trees, logging residue (i.e., slash left in the forest from the harvesting of commercial timber products), and primary mill residue (e.g., sawdust, bark, and chips from facilities that process timber into products such as lumber or log homes). Other potential sources for woody biomass not examined in this paper include mill wastes from secondary wood products (e.g., door, cabinet, or furniture) manufacturers, construction and municipal waste wood, and urban tree trimmings.

Not all of the woody biomass supply described in this paper is or would be available to existing or new biomass users because of various economic, logistic, and social factors. Changing market conditions for solid and reconstituted wood products, competition from existing roundwood and mill residue users (e.g., pulp mills, fiberboard and particle board plants, fuel pellet manufacturers, etc.), relatively high handling and transportation costs for small-diameter trees and slash, as well as political, administrative, and legal uncertainties surrounding public forest land influence the availability of woody biomass from the various supply sources examined.

Click here for the entire report

Additional Information

Web Site: http://dnrc.mt.gov/forestry/Assistance/Biomass/Documents/MT_WoodyBiomassAssessment.pdf

Category: Forestry>Biomass Energy

Region: Montana

Ad Running: 5/13/2009-5/13/2011

Ad Posted: 5/13/2009 12:27:17 PM

Ad Viewed: 555 times

Create your
Buy & Sell Ad