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Sustainable Use of Regional Wood Biomass in Kushida River Basin, Japan

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Abstract

The amount and cost of wood biomass produced from the Kushida River basin in Japan were simulated under current and modified forestry scenarios by combining the forest ecosystem and cost calculation models at semi-compartment level; in addition, an analysis was carried out comparing the sustainable supply against heat demands in the basin. The forest ecosystem model (BGC-ES) simulates biomass growth, the effects of thinning and clear-cutting practices, and the amount of harvest from these practices. The cost calculation model estimates the cost of each stage of wood biomass production, which depends on the productivity of forestry machines and the forest location. The available amount was determined by an economic comparison between the energy density of wood chips and fossil fuel. The available wood chips were assumed to be converted to heat at a boiler plant. The current forestry scenario (thinning schedule, rotation length, and managed area) was not efficient for the production of wood chips. The economic available amount was <1 % of the potential production from the basin forests. Modified scenarios (arranging the thinning schedule to promote secondary growth, increasing the rotation length, and increasing the managed area) improved the economic availability of the basin forest (up to about 40 %). In these scenarios, the available amount indicated that saturation was determined by the maximum cost of the wood chips. The available amount of wood chip production that can be sustainably supplied by the basin forest was simulated and compared with the household and agricultural demands for heat in the basin.

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Abbreviations

η:

Εmpirical coefficient of distance

λ:

Rate for overhead cost

λremain :

Remainder rate

λthin :

Thinning strength

λuse :

Thinning usage rate

A :

Forest area under a managed practice (ha)

C li :

Cost of labor for the i-th stage (JPY m−3)

C mi :

Cost of forestry machines for the i-th stage (JPY m−3)

C st :

Fixed cost (JPY m−3)

C road :

Access-road clearing cost (JPY m−3)

C W :

Total cost of wood chip production (JPY)

C ydi :

Daily cost of machinery for the i-th stage (JPY day−1)

df :

Forwarding distance (m)

dr :

Transporting distance (km)

H a :

Available wood chip (m3 year−1)

H t :

Total wood chip (m3 year−1)

L rot :

Rotation length (year)

N mpi :

Number of work personnel for the i-th stage machine

p c :

Maximum cost of wood chip (JPY m−3)

p ff :

Cost of energy from a fossil fuel (MJ JPY−1)

p w :

Cost of wood chip (JPY m−3)

prod i :

Hourly productivity for the i-th stage (m3 h−1)

r d :

Direct distance (km)

r thin :

Managed area rate for clearcutting practices (% year−1)

r update :

Managed area rate for thinning practices (% year−1)

V :

Trunk volume per area (m3 ha−1)

V 1 :

Trunk volume per tree (m3)

V p :

Produced wood chip volume (m3)

V pi :

Processing timber volume for the i-th stage (m3)

Wage i :

Labor expense for the i-th stage (JPY day−1)

w ti :

Working hours for the i-th stage (h day−1)

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a Grant-in-Aid from special coordination funds for promoting science and technology (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan) and the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund E-1105 (Ministry of Environment, Japan). The authors thank T. Kinoshita, K. Shoyama, H. Kato, T. Togawa, and M. Miyata for valuable comments for the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, 305-8506, Japan

    Makoto Ooba, Tsuyoshi Fujita, Motoyuki Mizuochi & Minoru Fujii

  2. Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Yamadaoka 2-1, Suita, 565-0871, Japan

    Takashi Machimura & Takanori Matsui

  3. EcoTopia Science Institute, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8603, Japan

    Makoto Ooba

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  1. Makoto Ooba
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  2. Tsuyoshi Fujita
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  3. Motoyuki Mizuochi
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  4. Minoru Fujii
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  5. Takashi Machimura
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  6. Takanori Matsui
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Correspondence to Makoto Ooba.

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Ooba, M., Fujita, T., Mizuochi, M. et al. Sustainable Use of Regional Wood Biomass in Kushida River Basin, Japan. Waste Biomass Valor 3, 425–433 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-012-9157-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-012-9157-z

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