Introduction Biomass energy has received much attention in recent years. We now use about one third of the U.S. corn crop for biofuels. More recently, attention has focused on cellulosic resources—dedicated energy crops like switchgrass, miscanthus, and corn stover. Now the question has been raised concerning the economics of collecting just the corn cobs for energy instead of the stover. This ...

Renewable natural resources include those resources useful to human economies that exhibit growth, maintenance, and recovery from exploitation over an economic planning horizon. The economics of such resources has traditionally considered stocks of fish, forests, or freshwater, much like a banker would tally interest on cash deposits. From an economic point of view, the management of biomass, s...