Forest Fuel Reduction and Biomass Supply: Perspectives from Southern Private Landowners

Removing excess biomass from fire-hazardous forests can serve dual purposes: enhancing the health and sustainability of forest ecosystems and supplying feedstock for energy production. Considerable efforts have been made to estimate the quantity of this biomass available on the ground, yet availability does not necessarily translate into actual supply. This seems especially evident for nonindustrial private forests given the diversity of ownership objectives and the lack of incentives. This study assesses the perception and behavior of private forestland owners in the southern U.S. with respect to thinning overstocked forests for bioenergy production. Landowner perception is then integrated with the USDA Forest Service’s Fuel Treatment Evaluator to estimate the biomass supply from fuel treatments on non-industrial private timberlands in the U.S. South. Due to competing uses for lumber and pulp/paper products, only about one-third of this biomass source could be used as bioenergy feedstock. Between 6% and 66% of landowners would consider thinning overstocked forests for bioenergy purposes depending upon whether financial incentives and technical assistance are provided. Accounting for competing uses, landowner willingness, accessibility, and recovery loss, annual feedstock supply from southern private treatable timberlands is estimated between 1 million and 12 million dry tons. The average production cost is proximately $45/dry ton. Government cost shares, biomass market development, and technical assistance could significantly stimulate private landowners to procure biomass from fire-hazardous forests while mitigating wildfire risk.