Annual Availability of Forest Biomass Resources for Woody Biomass Power Generation Plants from Subcompartments and Aggregated Forests in Tohoku Region of Japan

Abstract

To utilize timber and forest biomass resources for bioenergy, technically feasible and economically viable timber and forest biomass resources should be estimated accurately considering their long-term availability. This study focuses on five prefectures, namely, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, and Yamagata, and considers trade between these prefectures. The annual availability of timber and forest biomass resources, such as small-diameter or defect stem logs, rather than logging residues in Japan was estimated as supply potential from profitable forests where expected revenues surpassed all costs, from planting to final harvest. As a result, the supply potential and annual availability of timber were estimated at 11,388,960 m3/year and 1,631,624 m3/year, whereas those of forest biomass resources were estimated at 2,277,792 m3/year and 326,325 m3/year, respectively. Therefore, the rate of annual availability to supply potential was 14.3%. Since timber production and wood chip usage from thinned woods and logging residues in 2018 were 4,667,000 m3/year and 889,600 m3/year, the rates of annual availability for timber and forest biomass resources to those values were 35.0% and 36.7%, respectively. Furthermore, the demand was estimated at 951,740 m3/year from 100,000 m3/year with a generation capacity of 5 MW. The rate of forest biomass resource availability to demand was 34.2%. A thinning subsidy was provided for operational site areas larger than 5 ha in Japan. The rates from subcompartments and aggregated forests with a thinning subsidy increased to 91.4% and 190.3%, respectively. Thus, the estimated availability from aggregated forests with a thinning subsidy met the demand sufficiently in this region.

Effects of Site Conditions on Costs and Profitability in the Extraction and Use of Dead Trees in Mongolia

“…Several studies have focused on the costs of transportation from landing to industry, in which it was assumed that in-forest costs are more or less constant (Nord-Larsen and Talbot, 2004;Panichelli and Gnansounou, 2008;Kamimura et al, 2012). This study has focused more on the costs associated with harvesting, which is similar to several previous studies (Battuvshin et al, 2020;Matsuoka et al, 2021;Yamamoto et al, 2019). Specifically, Yoshioka et al (2011) considered skidding/yarding operations; Accastello et al (2017) considered 10 ground-based logging systems, but not cable logging; and Nakahata et al (2019) applied the optimal bucking method to estimate timber and forest biomass resources.…”

“…Aruga et al (2013a) and Aruga (2016) previously examined the relationships between areas or skidding trail length and skidding distances in subgroups with multiple lumber yards. Aruga et al (2013b) and Matsuoka et al (2021) examined aggregated forests, while merging small subgroups in the same watershed.…”

“…Yoshioka et al (2011) selected skidding/yarding machinery based on topographical conditions such as skidding/yarding distance and slope angle. Conversely, Battuvshin et al (2020) as well as Matsuoka et al (2021) selected forest operation systems and machine sizes based on topographical conditions, such as slope angles and height differences within 500 m (Goto, 2016). Forest operation systems include Cut-To-Length (CTL)-which includes harvester and forwarder, chainsaw felling, grapple loader bunching/winching/yarding, tower/conventional sledge yarding, and processing.…”

Research Trends and Future Direction for Utilization of Woody Biomass in Japan

“…Cases 1 to 3 and 32 utilized actual measurements from harvesting activities [18,19,28], whereas Cases 4, 5, 8, and 29 did not consider the use of branches and leaves [20,21,26]. Finally, Cases 6 to 23, besides not considering the use of branches and leaves, also account for losses in harvesting activities, resulting in a yield rate of less than 100% [22][23][24].…”

Estimation of Forest Residual Biomass for Bioelectricity Utilization towards Carbon Neutrality Based on Sentinel-2A Multi-Temporal Images: A Case Study of Aizu Region of Fukushima, Japan

“…As the world shifts away from fossil fuels, renewable energy (particularly woody biomass) emerges as a promising alternative after wind, solar, and geothermal technologies' market penetration [3][4][5][6]. Unlike the variable outputs of solar and wind power due to their fluctuation with weather and season [7], biomass offers consistent energy production throughout the year, positioning it as a reliable base load power source. This stability, combined with its ability to balance the intermittency of other renewables, underscores the potential of biomass in creating a diversified, sustainable energy system [8,9].…”