Silvicultural systems for the energy efficient production of fuel biomass
Production of biomass by forests is highly energy efficient. Purely exploitative schemes are more efficient than highly intensive silviculture. However, net energy yield increases with intensity of cultivation, so silvicultural systems approaching those of agricultural cropping should be favored from an energy production standpoint. Efficiency can be further increased by breeding, an area neglected in forestry for centuries after it had become a proven assist in agriculture. The rate of production of biomass can be increased by breeding for rapid growth. Simultaneously, it may be possible to reduce energy inputs by breeding for trees that do not require supplemental fertilization or by engineering new symbiotic relationships with nitrogen-fixing organisms.
- Research Organization:
- Yale Univ., New Haven, CT
- OSTI ID:
- 6341791
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-790415-P8
- Journal Information:
- ACS Symp. Ser.; (United States), Vol. 144; Conference: 177. national meeting of the American Chemical Society, Honolulu, HI, USA, 1 Apr 1979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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